Dejan Kulusevski offers Tottenham fans early pre-season hope with new training footage
Dejan Kulusevski appears to be closing in on a return to full fitness ahead of Tottenham Hotspur's pre-season tour.
The 26-year-old hasn't kicked a competitive ball in anger since 11 May 2025, when he suffered a patella injury against Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
It was a cruel way for his 2024-25 season to end, having scored 10 goals and provided 11 assists in 50 total appearances for Tottenham - both being his season-best returns in a Spurs shirt.
Kulusevski has played 146 times for the Lilywhites since his initial January 2022 loan move from Juventus, netting 25 times and registering 30 assists to boot.
Now firmly in the prime years of his career too, the versatile attacking midfielder will be hoping to make up for lost time, and could emerge as a key player in Roberto De Zerbi's side.
Unable to play a part in Spurs' relegation battle last term, Tottenham fans may not have to wait much longer to see him back in action either.
Dejan Kulusevski looks sharp in shooting drill
Given the fact he wasn't able to play a single minute for Tottenham last season, it's likely going to take some time for Kulusevski to get his match fitness up.
However, to start filling up the tank in that respect, he must reach the stage of his recovery where De Zerbi feels confident he can start introducing him in games without serious risk of further injury.
Kulusevski appears to be closing in on reaching that point, however, as proven in some training footage he's shared of himself seemingly from back in his homeland of Sweden.
Posting to his Instagram stories on Saturday evening, the Spurs star shared a video of himself taking shots on goal from numerous dead balls lined up across the edge of the box.
From the shots we see Kulusevski take in full, he finds the back of the net with every single one, picking out the corners of either side of the goal.
When is Tottenham's first pre-season game this summer?
With optimism high in N17 that De Zerbi will lead Tottenham into a bright and successful future, Kulusevski will no doubt be itching to be a part of it.
Contracted with the Lilywhites until 2028, he's still got plenty of time to work his way into the Italian's thinking, and this recent footage of him suggests he could be primed for a big season ahead.
Spurs' first pre-season test is in the shape of MK Dons on 22 July, before jetting off for their tour of Australia and New Zealand.
When and where Kulusevski will see his first pre-season minutes for Tottenham this summer will be one of the main storylines of their summer camp.
If it's early and possibly even against MK Dons, then the Swede is sure to be ready for the start of the Premier League season, but if it's later into the summer, then that could delay his impact on Spurs' new league campaign.