Sky Sports share Dejan Kulusevski injury news live from Hotspur Way – ‘It’s not good…’
Tottenham are busy preparing for their Premier League clash against Aston Villa on Friday.
Ange Postecoglou must motivate his men for one final league game ahead of their hotly anticipated Europa League final against Manchester United.
The Australian will see this fixture as an opportunity to ensure his squad travels to Bilbao in the best physical condition possible, with the result against Villa virtually a foregone conclusion.
He will have hoped to give some much-needed minutes to Dejan Kulusevski, but that seems increasingly unlikely.
Kulusevski not training with squad
Kulusevski picked up a knock in Tottenham’s 2-0 defeat against Crystal Palace on Sunday (11 May), forcing him to come off after 19 minutes.
Spurs fans would have hoped that the versatile midfielder’s withdrawal was more precautionary, given the disappointment of losing James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall in recent weeks.
However, according to Sky Sports, he hasn’t been able to shake it off as the Swedish international was not seen training with the squad on 14 May.
It will come as a bitter blow to Postecoglou, who has relied heavily on the former Juventus player’s contributions all season.
| Spurs Player | Minutes played | Appearances |
| Pedro Porro | 3,950 | 49 |
| Dejan Kulusevski | 3,450 | 50 |
| Dominic Solanke | 3,221 | 42 |
| Brennan Johnson | 3,145 | 48 |
| Heung-Min Son | 3,093 | 44 |
Kulusevski started the season strongly and was comfortably Tottenham‘s best player in the lead-up to Christmas, scoring seven goals and registering eight assists in that time.
The well-documented lack of available players over winter meant Spurs relied too heavily on the Swede, leading to him being overplayed and having a dip in form before inevitably succumbing to injury.
Speaking live from Hotspur Way, Gary Cotterill said: “Here’s the latest Deki news, I’m afraid it’s not good, because he isn’t out there training with the rest of the players.”
Postecoglou will hope for a miracle
Postecoglou’s time in North London has been synonymous with injuries, with some people pointing fingers at the Spurs’ managers’ training methods and style of play as potential reasons.
In recent months he has adapted his approach, putting players who have previously been sidelined “on ice” in an attempt to build up their fitness more gradually.
The Australian was not to blame for the innocuous injury that befell Kulusevski, and he will be hoping the medical staff can work wonders to ensure his playmaker can win the race against time.