Mudryk's Ankle Injury Deepens Spurs' Troubles

Tottenham’s bid to jolt their season into life has taken another hit, with Mykhailo Mudryk sidelined by an ankle injury suffered in training just days after his debut.

British media reported the winger went down in a session ahead of the weekend, with Roberto De Zerbi left counting the cost of what he called a “stupid injury” to a player he has long trusted.

The 25-year-old only arrived on deadline day, crossing the London divide from Chelsea on a season-long loan, and offered a brief glimpse of what he might bring in last weekend’s goalless draw at Nottingham Forest. He came off the bench, injected pace, and looked sharp. Fifteen minutes, then a halt.

Now he is expected to be out until after the international break, a jarring pause just as he was trying to restart a career that has lurched from promise to frustration.

De Zerbi knows Mudryk better than most. The pair first linked up at Shakhtar Donetsk, where the Ukrainian’s explosive acceleration and direct running turned him into one of Europe’s most coveted wide players and earned his move to Chelsea in January 2023.

The Premier League, though, never quite bent to his will at Stamford Bridge. He struggled to nail down a consistent role and, just as he was trying to adapt, his progress was shattered by an adverse analytical finding for meldonium in an anti-doping test in 2024.

The Football Association initially handed him a four-year ban. Mudryk appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and his suspension was later reduced after an agreement between the FA and the World Anti-Doping Agency, opening the door to this season’s loan and a reunion with De Zerbi.

That made this latest setback sting even more.

“With Mudryk, it was a stupid injury and we hope he can come back as soon as possible. For him and for us,” De Zerbi told reporters on Friday, underlining both the human and tactical cost.

“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.”

Before leaving Chelsea, Mudryk had clocked up 73 appearances, scoring 10 goals and adding 11 assists. Those numbers hint at productivity, but Spurs signed him for more than statistics: they wanted the chaos, the speed, the fear he puts into full backs.

Tottenham could use all of that right now. They have taken just one point from their opening three Premier League matches and sit 17th in the table, the optimism of the summer already thinning out.

Everton visit later on Saturday. De Zerbi will have to find a way without the winger he hoped would help flip the mood and the momentum.