Dejan Kulusevski has revealed that he enjoyed playing with a face mask on against Newcastle, remarking that he felt it gave him a ‘bit of swagger’.

Kulusevski had one of his most disappointing performances of the season against West Ham United last Thursday, often second-guessing himself in the final third and struggling to beat his man.

Ange Postecoglou decided to move the Swede back to the number ten role against Newcastle and the 23-year-old was back to his best, proving a threat to the Magpies defence all game.

The winger was playing with a protective face mask and it was revealed by Football.London’s Alasdair Gold that the former Juventus man had to wear it as he sustained a broken nose against West Ham after getting a stray elbow in the face from Lucas Paqueta.

Kulusevski feels good wearing a mask on his face

Kulusevski confirmed that the scans did show a broken nose, revealing that he had previously suffered an injury on his nose a couple of years ago.

He told Tottenham’s official website: “I broke my nose, unfortunately, in the last game against West Ham, right in the last minute. I didn’t think it was anything at the time, to be honest, but the medical staff made sure I got it checked.

“I had the X-ray and there it was – broken! It’s not straight, anyway. I broke it a couple of years ago and now I’ve done it again, it’s made it worse! That’s life!”

Some players might have felt uncomfortable playing with a face mask but Kulsuevski insisted that he actually enjoyed having it on.

He added: “The good thing about the mask is that it doesn’t affect your vision because the holes are big, so I’m like a panda out there, but I could see everything. Then, it felt good, you know what, it gives you, I don’t know… a little bit of swagger. I liked it!”

Even if is not a severe break, it would be playing on Kulusevski’s mind and might prevent him from going in for challenges. The mask perhaps gives him that little more confidence psychologically, helping him be at his combative best.