Dejan Kulusevski may not play for Tottenham again until after the World Cup concludes in December, according to manager Antonio Conte.
The 22-year-old midfielder missed Spurs’ victory over Leicester in September because of a hamstring injury he sustained while representing Sweden at an international level.
Kulusevski, who is on loan from Juventus, reportedly experienced a setback in his recovery, according to Conte.
“I think we have to wait a bit of time to see him with us,” Conte said.
“Yeah [I am worried] because his recovery was going well and then one day the situation worsened.
“Then when this type of situation happens, you have to restart. You need time, but we have the medical department to face injury situations and they have to solve the situation in a short period because you know if you are good to solve the situation in a short period, it means points in the table.”
In March, Kulusevski and Sweden were eliminated from contention for the World Cup after falling to Poland in a play-off.
Conte joked that he might even come out of retirement to assist the team if Harry Kane and Son Heung-min suffer an injury, adding that he has his “fingers crossed” that they stay healthy.
Due to Richarlison’s calf injury, Lucas Moura’s slow return to fitness after a long injury, and Bryan Gil’s inexperience in the Premier League, the former Chelsea manager is heavily dependent on Kane and Son.
“For sure this type of situation creates a big, big difficulty,” he said. “For me, also fingers crossed because at the moment we have Harry and Sonny in good health. I hope they continue to stay that way or I’ll have to think about putting my shoes on to play, me!”
