Dejan Kulusevski's last international match was against Azerbaijan in November 2024. He then missed a national team training camp due to a foot injury, before seriously injuring one of his knees in May 2025.
Now the attacking ace is in Graham Potter's squad for Sweden's final Nations League matches against Bosnia-Herzegovina at home on November 14 and away against Poland three days later.
I don't think it's fair to place too high expectations on him, says Graham Potter.
But we can expect him to bring his personality and qualities to training and compete for a place in the team. He can help us a lot in these two matches.
Kulusevski had not played a match in over 500 days when he featured in an internal training match with Tottenham in early October. On October 20, the Swede made his first Premier League appearance since the injury, followed by two more brief appearances.
"Incredibly tough time"
The injury meant that Kulusevski had to undergo two major operations and miss this summer's World Cup.
We've talked a lot in the meantime, and I'm so impressed with how he's handled it. He's so important to us both on and off the pitch, says Graham Potter.
It's the first time Kulusevski has been selected since the Englishman took over as national team manager.
That says a bit about how long he's been out.
Two debutants
In addition to Dejan Kulusevski, Anthony Elanga and Jacob Widell Zetterström are also back in the national team after their significantly shorter injury lay-offs.
Graham Potter has also selected two debutants - 19-year-old right-back Genesis Antwi from Strasbourg and 21-year-old Fiorentina striker Alieu Njie.
Two different player profiles, of course, but I've been very impressed with both, says Potter.
Alieu is in good form. We've had our eyes on him for a while, but I think this is a good opportunity. Genesis has also come up through the U21s. His speed is incredible, and he's faced some very good teams lately.
However, some potential national team players are still missing through injury. These include Lucas Bergvall, Carl Starfelt, Taha Ali, Mattias Svanberg, Emil Holm, Isak Hien and Roony Bardghji.
Sweden tops the group with ten points and has a chance to secure first place with a win at home against second-placed Bosnia-Herzegovina.
What do you think?