Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a blow with news that summer signing Mykhailo Mudryk has suffered a fresh ankle injury in training.
The 25-year-old completed a loan move to Spurs on Deadline Day and the North London outfit hold the option of signing the winger permanently for £75 million at the end of the campaign.
That transfer turned heads given that Mudryk had not played for 20 months due to a doping ban, which was dropped by the FA in July. The forward played his first match in 646 days when making his Tottenham debut in the 0-0 draw against Nottingham Forest. However, the player will face a spell on the sidelines before he earns more minutes under Roberto De Zerbi.
Tottenham handed Mykhailo Mudryk injury blow
Football.London reports that Mudryk is expected to be sidelined until after the upcoming international break. That means that the forward will miss out against Everton on Saturday, as well as the Carabao Cup trip to Liverpool and the visit of Aston Villa next weekend.
Further reports on Wednesday night suggested he will be out for 6-8 weeks.
De Zerbi had been outspoken in his admission that Mudryk's return to football would have to be managed carefully, and the winger was only used off the bench at The City Ground, replacing Mathys Tel.
The fresh ankle injury is not thought to have been provoked during the Ukraine international's debut and is a problem that has cropped up in training this week.
Speaking about Mudryk, De Zerbi had said:
“He’s not ready yet. He’s working to reach the best physical condition.
"He needs time, he needs work. In that position, we have Mathys Tel, big potential. But also Mathys takes too many wrong decisions, and Mudryk. So, two big players, two big potential players.”
Mykhailo Mudryk injury timeline -
Tottenham Hotspur v Everton, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, September 12 - sidelined
Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur, Anfield, September 15 - sidelined
Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, September 19 - sidelined
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, Old Trafford, October 10 - potential return
It's the latest blow for Mudryk, who arrived at Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk for a staggering £89 million when just 22 years old. At the time, the forward was tipped as a potential world-beater.
At the time, Shakhtar club president Rinat Akhmetov said: "I am convinced Mykhailo will win the respect, sympathy and love of all connoisseurs of world football with his speed, his technique, his bright and beautiful game."
Mudryk had scored 10 goals and picked up 11 assists in his first 73 appearances for Chelsea before the ban. The player had also earned the praise of Xabi Alonso during pre-season.
Ahead of the 2026/27 campaign, the new Blues manager had hinted that the club would 'need to see' regarding the player's fitness. He said: "To have the Mudryk that [we had], it will take time, but once there is a change, things start moving, and for him it's a massive change.
"He trained on his own every day, and I think it had to be really, really hard, because he wanted to play football, he wanted to be part of a team, and he was not allowed to do that for such a long time.
"So once this big change has happened, now things will move on, and afterwards we will see if it's quicker, if it's slower, but we need to be aware of that."