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Published : 15 May 2025, 08:59 PM
Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder Dejan Kulusevski will be out for a few months after having knee surgery, said manager Ange Postecoglou, and will miss Wednesday's Europa League final against Manchester United.
The Sweden international was injured in the 2-0 Premier League home defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend.
"Obviously disappointing news. Initially we thought it wasn't too serious ... it kind of blew up the day after and we knew there was an issue," Postecoglou told reporters on Thursday, ahead of the next day's Premier League trip to Aston Villa.
"He's had the surgery which will put him out for at least a few months."
Asked if Kulusevski would be back for the start of next season, Postecoglou said it was too early to say.
"We'll see. I only have basic information at the moment in terms of recovery, but it'll certainly put him out for a while," he added.
Kulusevski's Sweden teammate Lucas Bergvall, who has returned to training after sustaining an ankle injury last month, is not yet ready to return, the manager said.
"We just haven't had a smooth run of things. Every time we look like we are getting to a place where we are looking in decent shape squad-wise, invariably we've been hit (by injuries)," Postecoglou added.
Spurs, who also lost playmaker James Maddison to a knee injury earlier this month, are 17th in the league, having lost seven of their last 10 matches in the competition.
Postecoglou earlier said winning the Europa League could be a turning point for the club.
Postecoglou, however, was happy to see captain Son Heung-min return to action against Palace after recovering from a foot injury.
"He will definitely play tomorrow, whether we start with him or not we will have a look at... he will definitely play at least half a game tomorrow," Postecoglou said about the South Korea forward.
The manager said he would field a strong side with the aim to beat sixth-placed Villa before facing United on Wednesday.
"We are certainly going to go out there to try to win the game tomorrow and put out a team that hopefully gets that job done," he said.
"This is a challenge for the players... it is an opportunity for them to put their name forward for the big game the following week."
