Van de Ven hails Kulusevski's return after 18 months out
Micky van de Ven praised Dejan Kulusevski's return from 18 months out as Tottenham beat Coventry City 3-1, with Maddison also impressing on his first start since May 2025.
· Kickhell
Dejan Kulusevski made his long-awaited return from injury as a late substitute in Tottenham's 3-1 win over Coventry City on Monday, his first appearance since 11 May, 2025.
Captain Micky van de Ven described the moment as emotional, praising the Sweden playmaker's resolve throughout an 18-month spell on the sidelines.
"It's a bit emotional, I would say. If you see what he went through for the last 15, 16 months, the work he kept putting in and the belief he had over and over again that he will come back as quick as possible," van de Ven said. "He always believed. There was no day where he didn't believe."
"Deep, deep respect for him and we're all so happy to see him back on the pitch. He deserves every word of praise from everyone, because if you've seen what he's been going through, big respect for him."
James Maddison also caught the eye, opening the scoring with a long-range strike from 25 yards on his first start since 1 May, 2025 — curling the ball from in to out into the top corner.
"Madders showed again that he's a really big player, a really important player for us," van de Ven added. "He showed his qualities again on the pitch — he's big for us off the pitch as well, obviously — but on the pitch you can see what he can bring to us."
Van de Ven, wearing the captain's armband in the starting XI, called the result a platform to build on. "It was a top win, really important and something we need to build on," he said.
