Tottenham star Dejan Kulusevski will not feature again before March’s international break due to injury
Tottenham Hotspur will lock horns with AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of the Europa League last 16 on Thursday evening at the AFAS Stadion. They will be aiming to boost their chances of reaching the quarter-finals of the competition by picking up a positive result in the Netherlands before welcoming AZ Alkmaar for the return leg next week.
Ange Postecoglou’s side secured a top-eight finish in the competition’s league phase and had the weekend off, with their last outing coming in a disappointing 1-0 loss to Manchester City that ended their three-game winning run in the Premier League.
The Greek-Australian tactician gave an injury update of his squad on Wednesday evening ahead of the trip to AZ Alkmaar. He provided a positive injury update on Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke, with the trio having travelled with the squad and are all in contention to return to action after their respective injury lay-offs.
Ange Postecoglou also revealed that Dejan Kulusevski hasn’t travelled to the Netherlands following a knock to his foot, which will rule him out of action until April. When asked to elaborate on the 24-year-old’s injury during the pre-match presser, the Tottenham boss said:
“Deki is the only one (who hasn’t travelled). He’s had a knock on his foot. He’s not really sure when (it happened) to be honest.
“It’s been sore last couple of weeks, but he has been able to train and play and still get through it, but it wasn’t getting better, so we did some further investigations but there’s no real clarity. We’re just waiting on a couple of things to find out the extent of it.
“But he’s unlikely to be back before the international break. It’s nothing serious, it’s nothing surgical or anything but he hasn’t travelled.”
Earlier this week, Dejan Kulusevski posted a picture on his official Instagram account in which he was spotted wearing a protective boot. Club insider Paul O Keefe then revealed that the Sweden international is suffering from a foot injury and will be undergoing scans.
Big Ange has now dropped the latest update on the 24-year-old’s injury, and while it is fortunately not a serious one, the player not featuring again before March’s international break is still a blow for Tottenham.
As a result, he is set to miss both the Round of 16 legs against AZ Alkmaar, and the Premier League games against Bournemouth and Fulham. The Lilywhites resume their Premier League duties after the international break with a trip to bitter London rivals Chelsea on April 3, which would be touch-and-go for Kulusevski depending on how he recovers from his foot problem.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- Resurgent Tottenham winter target eyeing summer switch to Barcelona
- Guardiola driving force as Manchester City seek to beat Tottenham to English sensation
- Liverpool star could quit Anfield in the summer; Tottenham remain keen
Kulusevski has been Spurs’ best player this season, improving his productivity levels. However, his form has nosedived in recent months, affecting Spurs’ link-up play in the final third. If the Swedish playmaker can rediscover his mojo after returning from injury, Big Ange’s side will have a good chance to finish the season on a high note.
