Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Tottenham star admits injury scare that would splinter Conte plans – ‘I got a little worried’

Tottenham stars Dejan Kulusevski, Matt Doherty, Harry Kane, Cristian Romero and Rodrigo Bentancur

Tottenham forward Dejan Kulusevski suffered an injury scare while on international duty with Sweden, though his comments suggest he won’t miss any time.

The Sweden winger, 21, has hit the ground running since joining Spurs on loan in January. Kulusevski has two goals and four assists to his name thus far. He has been Antonio Conte’s preferred choice to complete his front three alongside Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

Tottenham retain genuine hopes of overhauling Arsenal to secure fourth spot. Kulusevski will no doubt be crucial to their aims given he has quickly earned the favour of Conte.

However, in Sweden’s recent victory over the Czech Republic, Kulusevski handed Spurs an injury scare.

In the 55th minute of their World Cup qualifying tie, Kulusevski suffered a head clash with David Zima.

The Swede required treatment on the field with an ice-pack administered to his cheek.

Kulusevski was deemed capable of continuing and completed the full 120 minutes with the stakes riding high for his country in extra time. Sweden would go on to win the match 1-0.

But in the post-match fall-out, Kulusevski admitted his worry when the incident initially happened.

“I got a little worried” – Kulusevski

“It started to spin for a few seconds and I got a little worried,” said Kulusevski (via Swedish outlet Fotbollskanalen).

“I thought it was the head, but then it turned out well. I was just trying to get angry to get energy from it.

“[I] could not have forgiven myself. I thought we had to win this. We cannot lose to Czech Republic at home. It cannot happen.

“It was a fantastic goal by Alex (Isak) and Robin (Quaison). Now we have to win against Poland and I look forward to it.”

The fact Kulusevski was given the green light to continue would suggest any Spurs fears are allayed. However, his inclusion against Poland on Tuesday will clear up any doubt once and for all.

Sweden travel to Poland with a place in Qatar later this year up for grabs. Kulusevski is fully aware of the challenge Robert Lewandowski and co will pose on home soil, though reckons the Swedes will persevere.

“I’m just happy. It was an incredible match. A strange match. A boring match. A difficult match. But I do not care. We won 1-0 and will play against Poland now. We have to win there too,” Kulusevski added.

“Poland have rested, so they certainly feel good, but when it comes to matches like this, it is the smartest who wins. It’s not about who is the best or who has the most energy. It’s about who’s smart.

“We are winners in this team, so I think we will win.”