De Zerbi hails 'great news' as Kulusevski returns for Tottenham vs Coventry

Kulusevski has suffered considerably during his recovery, and De Zerbi was delighted to receive medical clearance for the Sweden international to return to action.

"Deki, he suffered too much. He deserves to feel emotion on the pitch," De Zerbi said at his pre-match press conference at Hotspur Way on Sunday.

The Tottenham manager revealed that he informed Kulusevski of the news after training on Saturday.

"I spoke with him and I said to him, 'Deki, look, I spoke with the medical staff, and they gave me the okay' and he smiled like this," De Zerbi said.

"We are happy, we are very, very happy. It's not football. I'm not speaking about football. Okay, he's a special player, but we are speaking about different things. He suffered a lot and his reaction was great."

However, Tottenham will be without Savio and Lucas for the visit of Coventry. Savio suffered a muscular problem before the squad travelled to Marbella, while Lucas injured his knee during the match against Manchester United.

"He finished the game, but the day after, he came to the training ground to our medical staff. I think two weeks," De Zerbi said of Lucas' expected absence.

Pedro Porro is also working towards a return, although De Zerbi suggested the defender might not be ready until Tottenham's meeting with Chelsea.

"Pedro Porro, I think he's coming - maybe in Chelsea he can play," he said.

De Zerbi also faced questions about Richarlison's future after the forward featured for Tottenham's Under-21s, but declined to discuss whether the club were planning a January solution.

"It's not my problem anymore. You have to ask Vinai, Johan," he said, referring the matter to the club's leadership.

The Italian insisted that his priority was improving the team rather than becoming involved in discussions over decisions he had not made.

"I have no problem with nobody, but I don't want to speak anymore because my focus is on the Coventry game and the focus is just to improve my team," he added.

Tottenham will need to be ready for a Coventry side that De Zerbi believes earned its place in the Premier League after an impressive Championship campaign.

"Coventry is a good team. They played a fantastic Championship last season. They deserve to win the league and to play in the Premier League this season," he said.

"They play with energy, with quality also, because they have players, (Sidiki) Cherif, I know very well, and other players."

De Zerbi is determined to see Tottenham approach the contest with confidence but without underestimating their opponents.

"We are Tottenham and keeping humble, keeping humility, keeping what you want, but we want to show to be good enough to win the games, especially if we deserve to win the games," he said.

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