Ibrahimovic and Perisic helped Kulusevski: 'Would have taken someone else's knee'

Kulusevski overcame a severe knee injury that threatened his career, crediting advice from Ibrahimovic and Perisic for rejecting a risky transplant and seeking specialist treatment in Serbia.

Dejan Kulusevski has reflected on one of the toughest periods of his career after suffering a serious knee injury in spring 2025. The Tottenham winger faced multiple setbacks during rehabilitation, with initial treatments failing and a second operation also proving unsuccessful.

At one point, doctors proposed a knee transplant — a procedure that would have sidelined him for another 18 months with only a 50-50 chance of recovery.

Kulusevski ultimately rejected the transplant option. Instead, he sought advice from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ivan Perisic, his former Tottenham teammate now at PSV. Both urged him to consult a specialist in Serbia, whose confidence and clear treatment plan proved decisive.

"He said, 'Don't think about other operations. This is what we're going to do.' He was so sure of himself. That's what I needed at that moment," Kulusevski explained.

The 26-year-old Swedish forward has now made his return, appearing as a substitute in recent matches for Tottenham against Coventry City, Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Leeds United, and has also rejoined the Swedish national team. He described overcoming the injury as potentially greater than winning a World Cup, saying his entire perspective on life has changed.