Dejan Kulusevski will return to a Tottenham Hotspur matchday squad for the first time in more than 500 days on Monday night, with Roberto De Zerbi confirming the Swede will be on the bench for the visit of Coventry City — but Spurs have lost Savio and Lucas Bergvall to injury in the same week.
Kulusevski has not played since suffering a serious knee injury against Crystal Palace in May 2025, an injury that forced him to watch the Europa League final on crutches and wiped out more than a year of his career. He returned to training at the start of September, featured in a behind-closed-doors match during the international break, and travelled to Old Trafford last weekend to support the team — the latest steps in a comeback we tracked when Kulusevski first neared a return earlier this month.
"He Deserves to Feel Emotion on the Pitch"
De Zerbi confirmed the news at his pre-match press conference after a meeting with the club's medical staff. As football.london reported, the Spurs boss said: "Yes, he will be on the bench, the medical staff have given the okay. It's probably the greatest news since the Everton game."
"He has suffered too much," De Zerbi added, via the Press Association. "I told him yesterday and he had a big smile on his face. He deserves to feel emotion on the pitch."
Nobody at Spurs will rush him. After 500 days without competitive football, even a short cameo on Monday would be a milestone — and for a side that has struggled to create and score all season, the sight of their most inventive attacker back in a matchday squad is a lift in itself.
Savio and Bergvall Join the Absentee List
The good news came with a familiar cost. Savio is out for several weeks with a muscular problem felt on Tuesday, before Spurs left for their warm-weather training camp in Marbella, as Africa Soccer reported. The Brazilian only joined from Manchester City in the final days of the summer window, and his start in north London has now been disrupted almost before it began.
Lucas Bergvall will miss two weeks with a knee problem picked up early in last weekend's draw at Manchester United. In total, Spurs will be without seven players against Coventry, with Rodrigo Bentancur suspended. There was one further positive: Pedro Porro could return next week, in time for the trip to Chelsea.
It is the story of De Zerbi's season — every boost arrives with a fresh problem attached, in a squad already stretched by the kind of off-field turbulence that surrounded Richarlison earlier this month.
What This Means for Spurs and Coventry
The context makes Monday enormous. Spurs sit bottom of the Premier League with three points from six matches, still searching for a first win of the season after three draws and three defeats. A home game against newly promoted Coventry was supposed to be the fixture that changed that — but Frank Lampard's side arrive in form after back-to-back wins, and they will smell vulnerability.
Kulusevski's return does not fix Spurs on its own, and De Zerbi cannot build a plan around a player who has not kicked a ball competitively since May 2025. But it changes the mood, the bench, and the options if the game is tight late on. Win, and Monday becomes the night the season turned. Lose, with seven players missing and the returning hero watching from the bench, and the pressure on De Zerbi becomes something else entirely.
Beyond the Final Whistle: This is the best news Tottenham have had in months, and it still sums up their season — their most talented attacker returns after 500 days on the same weekend two more starters join the treatment room. Kulusevski deserves his moment on Monday night, but Spurs need a win far more than they need a feel-good story. Will Deki get his comeback minutes against Coventry — and can Spurs finally win a game? Tell us in the comments.
