Thomas Frank sounds injury warning as Tottenham winger to miss start of the season

There is still a sense of optimism around Maddison given that the former Foxes midfielder is the closest to a possible return. But Frank did admit that for Kulusevski, things are looking a bit slower and that the former Juve star will miss the start of the 2025/26 season.

He said (via The Standard):

“I don’t like to put a timeline on it. Put it this way, he’s not ready for the first game of the season.”

Thomas Frank decision about Kulusevski makes sense…

If we are talking about Dejan, the Swede has been an absentee since March, when he got ruled off because of a foot injury which kept him from participating in the final stages of last season. Kulusevski was also forced to miss out on the Europa League final, and we saw him celebrating the silverware on crutches.

And while he would have been grinding to make it back, at the moment the Swede is still short of full fitness, and the former Brentford manager is clearly not willing to rush the silky winger back.

This is definitely not the start that Kulusevski would have wanted. He would have been hungry all summer to prove himself to the new head coach, especially now with Kudus coming in and the wide roles about to get very competitive at Hotspur Way. But this is a smart call from Frank given that there is no point in gambling with fitness this early in the campaign, especially considering how the North Londoners suffered too much last year because of mismanaging injuries.

But with Kulusevski out and Maddison not quite at his 100% when the season kicks off, the Tottenham attack might look a little on the light side.