One game back. That's all Mykhailo Mudryk got before his Tottenham debut turned into a footnote and a training ground ankle sprain became the story.
The Ukrainian winger, on a season-long loan from Chelsea after having a 20-month drugs ban overturned, came off the bench in last weekend's 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest — his first competitive appearance in 646 days. Days later, he picked up an ankle injury in training. He's now looking at four to eight weeks on the sidelines.
What Spurs actually lose here
The timing stings. Mudryk misses this weekend's home match against Everton, the Carabao Cup tie with Liverpool, and the league encounter with Aston Villa. Three games where De Zerbi's wide options were already thin — Mathys Tel is the primary alternative, and De Zerbi himself admitted the Frenchman "takes too many wrong decisions." Spurs' attacking depth just got a stress test it didn't need.
The ankle sprain also throws cold water on what was already a cautious reintegration project. De Zerbi hadn't been hiding his tempered expectations: "He's not ready yet. He's working to reach the best physical condition. He needs time, he needs work." Now he gets more time — just not the kind he wanted.
Injury specialist Ben Dinnery had flagged exactly this kind of setback before it happened. "It is rare you have a straight line from A to B," he told the Press Association, "particularly when you're talking about a player like Mudryk who is highly explosive with dynamic movements." An ankle sprain in week one fits that warning precisely.
A £88.5m player looking for a reason to exist
The broader picture here is bleak for everyone involved. Chelsea spent £88.5 million on Mudryk in January 2023. He returned 10 goals in 73 appearances before a failed drugs test — later overturned — effectively ended his season. The loan to Spurs was supposed to be a reboot. One substitute appearance and a training injury is not a reboot. It's more turbulence in what's already been a chaotic two years.
If the four-to-eight week estimate holds, Mudryk won't be featuring meaningfully for Spurs until late April at the earliest. At that point the season is in its final stretch, De Zerbi will have built his rhythms around other players, and the Ukrainian will be chasing minutes rather than earning them.
"It could still be several games or even several months depending on how much exposure he will be afforded," Dinnery said. Right now, that exposure looks a long way off.
