New Tottenham Hotspur left winger Mykhaylo Mudryk had not played a single game in two years after serving a suspension and his own injury woes, but the former Chelsea player stepped onto the pitch again last weekend as a substitute against Nottingham Forest. And not but days later, Spurs fans learned that the Ukrainian winger is going to be out for several weeks with an ankle injury.
Not a single Tottenham fan is surprised, of course. And that's not only because Spurs have been seemingly cursed with the injury bug for years, but it's also because Mudryk has a track record of injuries and, again, was always going to be a fitness issue having not played competitive football in ages.
Mudryk was a last minute addition on loan from Chelsea on transfer deadline day, following the tradition of Spurs taking punts on fallen young stars like Timo Werner and Randal Kolo Muani on loan. And Roberto De Zerbi is hoping that his personal favorite from his old Shakhtar Donetsk days ends up being more successful than them.
Tottenham signed Mykhaylo Mudryk and snubbed Richarlison
The doors opened for Mudryk, of course, because Tottenham Hotspur were unable to sell Richarlison to Everton and sign Iliman Ndiaye. As much as Richy got painted as the villain for that deal falling out, Ndiaye actually chose Man City over Spurs, which is understandable after how badly Tottenham played against Newcastle United and Brentford just prior, and it was Tottenham who rejected a later offer from Mohamed Salah's Trabzonspor in the Turkish Super Lig.
Since then, Roberto De Zerbi has continued his sparring with Richarlison and even left him off the senior squad as Spurs scramble for a final solution to axe Richy. They have created so much bad blood on De Zerbi's behalf that now it is impossible to envision Richarlison playing a single game for Spurs going forward, even if he is not transferred to Brazil before their window ends, and that's quite the fall after he led the team with 11 Premier League goals last season and to relegation safety.
Perhaps the Mykhaylo Mudryk injury is the first sign of De Zerbi, deep down, having some regret about freezing out Richarlison. Because he is now short handed in the attack. If he moves Omar Marmoush for left wing depth, then the only striker he has in the squad is Dominic Solanke. Between the left wing and striker positions, he only has three players who can be a No. 9 or invert as a left winger to score goals. Maybe De Zerbi's own hot headedness got in the way of sensible business, because, unfortunately, Mudryk's first injury may not even be his last if he is already down for a significant period of time.