Updated: 11 Sept 2026 13:00 BST |
4 min read
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Chelsea’s plan to sell Mykhailo Mudryk for a hefty fee next summer has hit an unfortunate complication following an ankle injury suffered in training.
The 25-year-old joined Tottenham Hotspur on a season-long loan deal on Transfer Deadline Day and he made his debut against Nottingham Forest last Saturday, playing 16 minutes in a 0-0 draw against Oliver Glasner’s side.
However, he sustained an ankle injury in training on Monday and will now miss the next six to eight weeks of action, as confirmed by BBC Sport.
It’s reported that he is currently wearing a protective boot in order to begin the rehab process and while the upcoming international break will reduce his absence at club level, Mudryk’s setback is still an issue for both Spurs and Chelsea.
In December 2024, Mudryk was handed a four-year doping ban after testing positive for banned substance meldonium, but he was cleared to return to professional football in July and Chelsea opted to send him on loan to Tottenham following the signings of Morgan Rogers and Geovany Quenda in his position.
Will Chelsea sell Mykhailo Mudryk next year?
Chelsea are yet to make a final decision on Mudryk’s long-term future at the club, although he will become a permanent Spurs player if they opt to trigger the €87 million (£75m) option-to-buy clause that was included in his loan deal.
However, it’s perhaps unlikely that De Zerbi’s side will spend that much on Mudryk, given his struggles throughout his Premier League career to date, and his loan spell to north London was finalised in order to give him consistent first-team game time.
Mudryk hadn’t played a competitive match for over 21 months before his cameo appearance versus Forest last Saturday and the Ukraine winger needs regular minutes to get back up to speed following a lengthy spell of training alone.
His move to Spurs was therefore a risk, given the attacking options at De Zerbi’s disposal, but Chelsea were willing to finalise the deal due to Mudryk’s desire to reunite with his former Shakhtar Donetsk coach.
But, an ankle injury has stalled any progress that he has made to date. Instead, Mudryk will now be focusing on rehab rather than on competitive action and given Chelsea need him to perform well throughout the entire season in order to sell him for the highest fee possible next summer, it’s a rather disappointing development.
Furthermore, it will give the Ukraine star fewer opportunities to convince Spurs to pay €87m for his services.
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