‘Hero’ – Tottenham’s future captain lauded for ‘life-saving actions’ after horror incident

Dec 23, 2025 - 12:30

Tottenham loanee Luka Vuskovic has been praised for his super-quick thinking that stopped a rival player from swallowing his tongue.

The 18-year-old defender continues to make headlines for all the right reasons during his loan stint at Hamburger SV.

Former Leeds United star Rasmus Kristensen was in danger of swallowing his tongue

Tottenham signed the Croatian starlet from Hajduk Split in September 2023, but he has yet to play a senior game for the club.

FIFA rules on overseas players under 18 delayed his arrival for two years, with Spurs fans getting their first look at him last summer.

Vuskovic scored and assisted on his unofficial debut in a 2-0 pre-season win against Reading in July before heading out on loan.

He has since looked like delivering on ex-Spurs boss Martin Jol‘s bold prediction that he will be better than Cristian Romero.

The centre-back has two goals in 13 Bundesliga appearances and ranks among the best in his position in Germany’s top flight for clearances, successful dribbles, chances created, and aerial duels won.

However, Vuskovic performed his most impressive rescue action to date on Saturday during Hamburg‘s 1-1 home draw with Frankfurt.

Vuskovic lauded for ‘life-saving actions’

Former Leeds United player Rasmus Kristensen was left in serious danger of swallowing his tongue having appeared to be knocked out cold from a clash with Miro Muheim.

Vuskovic instantly stepped in to assist his stricken rival, with his actions hailed on the Bundesliga website as ‘potentially life-saving‘.

“He was a hero at the weekend when they played Eintracht Frankfurt,” European football expert Andy Brassell told talkSPORT.

“Rasmus Kristensen smashed into Muheim, one of Vuskovic’s Hamburg teammates, and they both looked in a pretty bad way.

Vuskovic was typically humble when explaining his heroic intervention to Bild

“Despite only being 18, Vuskovic ran across and made sure Kristensen wasn’t swallowing his tongue.

“He was super quick-thinking and lauded for that.

“It’s just in keeping with the way that he’s been, not just really good for a team, their aim really is to avoid relegation.”

Vuskovic suffered a baptism of fire in his debut for HSV ina 5-0 defeat against Harry Kane‘s Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

But he bounced back in his second outing to score his professional goal, and indeed Hamburg’s first in the Bundesliga since their 2018 relegation during a 2-1 victory over Heidenheim.

Vuskovic will be a first-team player at Spurs

Such has been Vuskovic’s impressive form that sections of Spurs fans have called for the club to bring the youngster back early.

Thanks to Vuskovic, Kristensen was able to leave the pitch of his own accord

The Tottenham loanee was rightly praised for making sure the prone Kristensen’s airways were not obstructed

Brassell, who previously tipped the winner of the Bundesliga’s Rookie of the Month award in October as a future Tottenham captain, said there’s no rush to potentially disrupt his development.

He told talkSPORT’s Hawsbee and Jacobs: “He’s having a brilliant time in Hamburg, so there’s no reason for him to go anywhere.

“Even though one of his first games was like a 5-0 thrashing at Bayern, he’s looked super comfortable.

“He’s looked like a leader, which is really interesting for an 18-year-old.”

Brassell added: “They’ll really miss Vuskovic when he goes, and he will go because he will be a first-team player at Spurs.

“There’s absolutely no doubt about that. He really looks the part.”