Dejan Kulusevski offered a positive sign in his recovery on Friday afternoon, posting clips of individual training work on his Instagram story as Tottenham Hotspur continue to manage his comeback carefully ahead of Saturday afternoon's Brentford game at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The 26-year-old has not featured since suffering a complicated knee injury in May 2025 during Tottenham Hotspur's defeat to Crystal Palace. Since then, he has required surgery, followed by a clean-up procedure and further setbacks, leaving the Lilywhites without one of their most direct attacking options for an extended period.
Still working separately at Hotspur Way
Speaking to reporters at Hotspur Way on Friday afternoon, Roberto De Zerbi said Kulusevski is still working away from the main group with an individual coach. De Zerbi stressed that Tottenham are being cautious with injuries and are not prepared to take risks, which is why the winger remains on a separate schedule rather than returning straight into full team work.
De Zerbi also made clear that he has been watching Kulusevski closely, not just as a player but as a person going through a difficult spell. He described the situation as hard on a human level and said the club are staying close to him during the process. That added context matters because Kulusevski has been missing for months, and every small training update is part of a longer recovery path rather than a final step back to full availability.
There is also a footballing reason Tottenham are taking their time. De Zerbi called Kulusevski a special player and said that if he is fit and available, he changes the team in a similar way to Xavi Simons. That is why the latest on-grass work matters, even if it does not yet change his match status.
For now, the answer on the Brentford game is straightforward: Kulusevski is not available. The clips from Hotspur Way do, however, suggest a first-step return to more active work after a complicated injury and surgery run, and that is at least a meaningful checkpoint for Tottenham as they look ahead to the Premier League season.
For more on the standards around a long comeback, Ruud Van Nistelrooy sets comeback benchmark for Dejan Kulusevski offers useful context on what a return can look like.
