Mudryk's Ankle Injury Disrupts Spurs Restart

Tottenham’s gamble on Mykhailo Mudryk has hit an early snag, with the winger injuring his ankle in training just days after making his debut for the club.

British media reported the Ukraine international is expected to be out until after the upcoming international break, a blow for both player and manager Roberto De Zerbi, who had earmarked the season-long loan from Chelsea as a fresh start for a talent whose career has already veered off course more than once.

De Zerbi did not hide his frustration when he faced reporters on Friday.

“With Mudryk, it was a stupid injury and we hope he can come back as soon as possible. For him and for us,” the Spurs manager said. “For him because he suffered too much and for us because we lost an important player. He played 15 minutes in Nottingham, he played well, but it's in the normal process when one player doesn't play for a long time.”

That cameo at Nottingham Forest, off the bench in last weekend’s goalless draw, was his first taste of Premier League football since leaving Chelsea on deadline day. It was supposed to be the first step in rebuilding his reputation. Instead, he is back in the treatment room.

The 25-year-old’s relationship with De Zerbi goes back to their days at Shakhtar Donetsk, where Mudryk’s explosive form under the Italian helped propel him into the European spotlight and earn his big move to Stamford Bridge in January 2023. The Premier League, though, never quite bent to his will.

Across 73 appearances for Chelsea, Mudryk scored 10 goals and supplied 11 assists, flashes of quality buried inside an inconsistent spell. Just as he was trying to find rhythm, his career stalled again when an anti-doping test in 2024 produced an adverse analytical finding for meldonium.

The Football Association initially handed him a four-year ban. He appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and after an agreement between the FA and the World Anti-Doping Agency, the suspension was reduced, opening the door for a return at the highest level. Tottenham’s loan move on deadline day was meant to be that door.

Now this.

For Spurs, the timing could hardly be worse. They have stumbled out of the blocks in the Premier League, taking only one point from their first three matches and sitting 17th in the table. An already flat start loses another spark of attacking invention, at least in the short term.

Tottenham host Everton later on Saturday, still searching for their first league win of the season and now without the winger De Zerbi knows better than almost any other coach. The plan was for Mudryk to rediscover himself in north London. The question is how long they will have to wait before that plan can even begin again.