Dejan Kulusevski availability for Europa League final confirmed after undergoing knee surgery
Kulusevski suffered an injury to his right patella against Crystal Palace
Dejan Kulusevski will miss Tottenham’s Europa League final against Manchester United after Ange Postecoglou confirmed the Swede will be “out for a few months”.
The club confirmed Kulusevski suffered an injury to his right patella in their Premier League clash with Crystal Palace last weekend, with the Swede going under the knife on Wednesday following further specialist consultation.
Spurs have now provided a timeline on the injury, with Postecoglou confirming he will miss the trip to Bilbao.
He said: "Disappointing news. Initially, we thought it wasn't too serious. It seemed pretty good but it kind of blew up the day after. He has had surgery and it will put him out for a few months.
“We will see [back for next season]. To be honest, I have basic information on recovery. It will put him out for a while.”
The 25-year-old only returned from a foot injury last month but was involved in both of Tottenham’s quarter-final and semi-final triumphs in Europe, initially putting him in line to feature in Bilbao next Wednesday.
However, he now joins James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall on the treatment table, both of whom are confirmed out for the showpiece at San Mames.
Ange Postecoglou seemed to reassure fans that Kulusevski’s injury was anything serious, saying “it’s more of a knock than anything more significant” on Monday.
This statement has aged poorly with the Swede facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
"It's just reflective and consistent with everything else that has happened this season,” Postecoglou added, lamenting his side’s bad luck with injuries. 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 have been hit.
"The last few weeks again, it's just circumstances that have happened probably in the one area of the park."
Postecoglou did have better news on the Heung-min Son front after the Tottenham skipper made his return from a foot problem against Palace.
"Firstly, from a physical standpoint, he is good,” Postecoglou said post-match. “It was good for him to get minutes yesterday and he had a good session today.
"It was important he got some minutes yesterday against Crystal Palace because he needed them, more for himself physiologically.
"He had a good session today. He was never going to do the whole session because he played yesterday. He feels good and we've still got eight or nine days to go, plus a game on Friday where we can build him up.
"It's great to have him available. He's been a big catalyst this year and a big driver."
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