Mudryk's Ankle Injury Hampers Spurs' Struggles
Tottenham’s season-long punt on Mykhailo Mudryk has hit an early snag, with the winger sidelined by an ankle injury picked up in training, according to British media reports.
The 25-year-old, signed on loan from Chelsea on deadline day, had only just dipped his toes back into Premier League life. He came off the bench last weekend in the goalless draw at Nottingham Forest, showing flashes of the direct running Roberto De Zerbi knows so well. Fifteen minutes, a few bright touches – then another halt.
Reports suggest Mudryk is likely to be out until after the upcoming international break, an unwelcome pause for a player who has already endured more than enough disruption in his career.
De Zerbi, speaking on Friday, did not hide his frustration at the timing.
“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.”
De Zerbi and Mudryk go back a long way. The Italian helped shape the winger’s rise at Shakhtar Donetsk, where Mudryk’s pace and aggression turned him into one of Europe’s most coveted wide players. That form earned him his move to Chelsea in January 2023, but the Stamford Bridge chapter never fully caught fire.
Across 73 appearances for Chelsea, Mudryk managed 10 goals and 11 assists. Decent numbers, yet never quite matching the hype that followed his arrival. Then came the biggest interruption of all.
His career was effectively frozen in 2024 after an adverse analytical finding for meldonium in an anti-doping test. 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, allowing a path back to elite football.
Tottenham offered that route, gambling that De Zerbi’s familiarity with the player and the winger’s hunger to restart his career could jolt their attack to life. Instead, before he has even started a game for Spurs, he is back in the treatment room.
For a side already labouring, the timing could hardly be worse. Spurs have taken just one point from their opening three Premier League matches and sit 17th in the table. The football has been disjointed, the margins fine but unforgiving. An explosive wide option like Mudryk was supposed to change the tempo, give them a different gear.
Now De Zerbi must plan without him as Everton visit later on Saturday, with Spurs searching for both a first win and a sense of direction.
Mudryk will watch on, again, waiting for the moment when his comeback finally runs longer than a quarter of an hour.
