Top News

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Roberto De Zerbi picked up the few points required to keep the club in the Premier League after taking charge close to the end of last season, but the 2026/27 campaign has begun in miserable fashion.

Spurs are still without both a win and a goal after their opening three Premier League fixtures. Defeats to Brentford and Newcastle United were followed by a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest last Saturday.

After reportedly spending £313 million on new arrivals in the summer transfer window, even if that outlay was balanced somewhat by several major sales, it marks an alarming return to the sort of results that dragged Spurs into relegation trouble last season.

The North London side completed a series of eye-catching signings over the summer, but among the most surprising of all was the season-long loan move for Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk.

De Zerbi has long been a strong supporter of the Ukraine international, a player he once tipped for a Ballon d'Or-level future when the two were together at Shakhtar Donetsk. He undoubtedly got the best out of Mudryk, who was genuinely exciting during the Champions League group stage in 2021/22.

The 25-year-old joined Chelsea in January 2023 but failed to meet the expectations created by the previous season, and more trouble followed.

Mudryk was provisionally suspended in December 2024 after failing a drugs test. He was later formally handed a four-year ban that would have kept him out until the end of 2028. He appealed, and the charge was dropped in July.

Mudryk's first competitive outing for nearly two years came in the Forest match. There was always clearly an element of risk attached to that situation – De Zerbi and Spurs took on that risk from Chelsea and now find themselves paying an injured player.

Mudryk could be sidelined for the next two months after suffering an ankle injury in training this week.

“The 25-year-old is understood to have sustained the injury on Monday and is currently believed to be in protective boot,” BBC Sport reported.

“The injury coincides with a three-week international break and a return in October is considered a realistic prospect.”

Mudryk's injury means Spurs are now paying a player who will be unavailable not only for a couple of months, but also at a point when he needed to be rebuilding match fitness and adapting to De Zerbi's methods as the manager tries to turn Spurs around.

It is also one of the most important seasons of Mudryk's career. This injury is a bitter blow at a crucial moment.