Kulusevski was left out of Sweden’s World Cup squad on Tuesday after 12 months on the sidelines with a right patella injury.

Back in March, after Kulusevski had a second procedure on the long-standing problem, he declared his “knee is great now” and had targeted an unlikely appearance at this summer’s tournament, but Potter officially ended the dreams of the 26-year-old this week.

Spurs head coach Roberto De Zerbi had cast doubt on Kulusevski’s World Cup involvement last Thursday but did reveal the talented playmaker was due back at the club to continue rehabilitation at some point this month.

Tottenham are still in a battle to stay in the Premier League and even though Kulusevski will miss the whole of the 2025-26 campaign, there is optimism around his chances of being fit for the start of next season.

“With Dejan, again just a very, very difficult decision,” Potter told a press conference.

“I think we have to think about what is right for the team, that’s important but also Dejan is in a place where he has had a long fight and he is making progress.

“I think it’s important now that this time he can really focus on getting himself ready for the start of the season.

“Dejan is at a stage where his rehab is so important and he has made some progress.

“I think the aim for him would be to start the next season with Tottenham, hit the ground running and to get back on the pitch and do the thing he loves.

“I think we have to be careful about that and ultimately that is the priority for him.”

Potter acknowledged it had been difficult to take away Kulusevski’s World Cup dream, but was concerned over how quickly he could get up to speed while Eldina Ahmic, the wife of the Spurs attacker, revealed he discovered the news a year to the day of the injury on May 11 2025.

“Once those games start, you’re not in an area where you can do big 11 v 11 work, so it would be very, very difficult for him to get up to where we need him to be,” Potter explained.

“Sometimes you have to take a decision of what does this look like. What is the impact for the player? What is the impact for the team?

“And it just felt in my stomach it was the right thing for us and for him, but of course now it’s tough to see that, because he wants to be there and he wants to play, I understand.

“He is a professional person and he accepts it, of course but it is also very difficult as it is with all the guys. These things don’t come along very often, it’s a dream and you’re ending a dream which is not a nice thing believe me.”