Dejan Kulusevski has spoken about having the chance to work with Roberto De Zerbi at Tottenham following his long and arduous road back from his knee injury.The Swede suffered a complicated patella injury back in May of 2025 after colliding with Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi, and he had to go under the knife multiple times.The 26-year-old was out of action for 18 months, missing the 2025 Europa League final, the entirety of last season and the summer’s World Cup.Speaking to the club’s media a couple of days ago, Kulusevski admitted that he had doubts over whether he would be able to play again after the knee refused to respond to the various treatments he had.Credit: @thefrederikkejensen / InstagramDejan Kulusevski makes admission about having Roberto De Zerbi as Tottenham bossThe former Juventus man showed tremendous strength of character and determination to battle back from the injury, and De Zerbi remarked earlier this month that Kulusevski’s courage serves as an inspiration for everyone else at the club.The attacking midfielder has now shared that he is starting to understand how to live with and manage his problem, explaining that he had to slowly build strength back in his knee.Kulusevski also revealed that he knew De Zerbi before he came to Spurs and admitted that he is delighted to get the chance to work with the Italian.The Sweden international said about his recovery (via BBC Sport): “Yeah, it’s an incredible story. I am starting to understand how to live with it, how to treat it, how to do my stretching one hour every evening before sleep and I start to understand how I can help this.“I know I can compete and I know that, because I put in the work. I am not afraid because I put in the work for one year so I know I will be ready to play and the knee is strong.“Roberto, I know from before because he is a very special manager so when he came here, it feels also like it is special. I am so happy to have him and the staff because they are different and I like to work with different people.”Kulusevski’s injury has parallels to Ledley King’sSpurs fans will remember well that Ledley King also had an issue with the cartilage (or a lack of it) on his left knee joint due to an injury he sustained when he was around the same age as Kulusevski is now.While King still carried on playing for Tottenham for another five years, his workload had to be carefully managed, and he often did not train at all during the final part of his career.Kulusevski may also have to carefully manage his workload over the next few years, and it remains to be seen if he will ever return to being the same player he was before his injury.However, the early signs are certainly positive, with the attacking midfielder appearing to be moving without much discomfort in his recent cameo appearances off the bench.READ MORE: Eli Junior Kroupi drops big transfer hint, but does it take him beyond Tottenham Hotspur?The post ‘They are different’ – Dejan Kulusevski reveals why he loves ‘special’ Roberto De Zerbi appeared first on Spurs Web.