Mudryk ankle injury leaves Spurs paying for a player who cannot help De Zerbi's winless start

Mykhailo Mudryk has picked up an ankle injury in training at Tottenham Hotspur, leaving the club without the Chelsea loanee for up to two months after he made just one competitive appearance since returning from a doping ban. The setback deepens the gloom around Roberto De Zerbi’s side, who are winless and goalless after their opening three Premier League fixtures of the 2026/27 season.

Spurs lost to Brentford and Newcastle United before being held to a 0-0 draw by Nottingham Forest last Saturday — the match that marked Mudryk’s first competitive outing in nearly two years following the resolution of his doping case. The 25-year-old had been provisionally banned in December 2024 after failing a drugs test, received a four-year suspension, and then had the charge dropped on appeal in July, clearing the way for the loan move from Chelsea.

According to BBC Sport, Mudryk sustained the ankle injury on Monday and is currently wearing a protective boot. A return in October is considered a realistic prospect, meaning the international break offers little consolation — he will miss the period when he most needed to build match fitness and absorb De Zerbi’s methods.

The timing is particularly painful for Tottenham. The club spent a reported £313 million on new signings across the summer window, and the Mudryk loan was among the more eyebrow-raising pieces of business — a calculated bet by De Zerbi, who coached the Ukrainian at Shakhtar Donetsk and once tipped him for Ballon d’Or contention after an eye-catching Champions League group-stage campaign in 2021/22.

Mudryk joined Chelsea in January 2023 but never consistently reproduced that early form at Stamford Bridge, and the doping saga effectively cost him the best part of two seasons. Now, just as his career needed momentum, he faces another enforced absence.

For De Zerbi, who was appointed near the end of last season specifically to steer Spurs away from relegation, the injury is a significant complication. The results so far in 2026/27 have echoed the form that put the club in danger twelve months ago, and losing a player he personally championed — however briefly — removes one of the more intriguing options at his disposal as he attempts to turn things around.