Mykhailo Mudryk's return to competitive football has been cut short by an ankle injury that could sideline the Tottenham winger for up to two months.
The Ukraine international, on loan from Chelsea for the season, made his first Premier League appearance in almost two years as a 74th-minute substitute in Saturday's goalless draw at Nottingham Forest. It was his first taste of action since serving a doping ban that began in November 2024 and sidelined him for almost two years.
Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi had acknowledged that it would take time for the 25-year-old to regain full match fitness, but any gradual reintegration has now been halted by the setback sustained in training this week.
The injury leaves De Zerbi with a severely depleted attacking unit at a time when the fixture list is beginning to thicken. Richarlison has been excluded from the Premier League squad after requesting to leave during the summer, while teenager Mikey Moore was loaned to Cologne on deadline day to make room for Mudryk's arrival. Those decisions have left the squad short of wide options at a critical juncture.
Further complicating matters, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert are both recovering from serious knee injuries and are not expected back before the turn of the year. Dejan Kulusevski is closing in on a return after more than 12 months out, with Sweden manager Graham Potter describing him as "very close," while James Maddison has not started a match since before Kulusevski's injury and picked up a shoulder problem on the opening day against Brentford.
De Zerbi's options for the upcoming fixture against Everton are therefore likely to be drawn from Dominic Solanke, Omar Marmoush, Mathys Tel, Savinho and Mohamed Kudus. The Italian may also be forced to reshuffle his tactical approach to compensate for the lack of natural width in his squad.
Mudryk joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in a deal worth up to £88 million in January 2023 but struggled to justify that price tag in west London. He made 30 Premier League appearances for the Blues, scoring three goals, before the doping violation and subsequent loan move to north London.
The winger will now miss the September and October international breaks and faces a race against time to be available for the busy winter schedule. His absence also robs Ukraine of a key player for their Nations League fixtures, with head coach Oleksandr Petrakov already facing a selection crisis ahead of the matches against the Czech Republic and Albania.