Ruud van Nistelrooy is the example Danny Murphy used to judge Dejan Kulusevski’s chances of getting back to his best after a knee injury. The former Spurs midfielder said the comparison is fair, but he also warned that long layoffs can leave some players short of their old level.
Murphy said van Nistelrooy was “probably the best example” of a player who did his knee and then returned as “an incredible player.” He contrasted that with Fernando Torres, saying the forward never found the same form after a bad knee injury at Liverpool and later at Chelsea.
Murphy’s van Nistelrooy comparison
The point of the comparison is simple. Kulusevski has been out for more than 12 months, and Murphy believes the longer a player is sidelined, the harder it becomes to recover the same sharpness.
He added that van Nistelrooy delayed his transfer to Man United after his knee injury, then arrived and performed at a high level. Alan Shearer was the other comeback example Murphy cited, saying he returned from a bad knee injury and “banged in loads of goals.”
Kulusevski’s long layoff
Kulusevski last played competitively on May 11, 2025, when he was forced off inside the opening 20 minutes of a meeting with Crystal Palace. He had already been dealing with a patella problem before that setback.
After May 11, 2025, he went through multiple surgeries and a lengthy rehabilitation process. He did not play a single minute during the 2025-26 campaign, and the hope is that he will be ready to rejoin Tottenham when Premier League resumes in August.
Tottenham’s wider problem
Murphy’s view on Kulusevski is tied to Tottenham’s own season. He said that if Kulusevski and James Maddison had been fit for half of the campaign, Tottenham would not have been in the same predicament, calling Kulusevski influential enough to change that picture.
He also said Kulusevski will likely get his chance at Tottenham because nobody would take the risk on a player who has been out for more than a year and is on a decent contract. His return could feel like signing a new player, but the form he brings back will decide whether the comeback lands like van Nistelrooy’s or slips toward Torres’s path.
