Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of a swift return to form suffered a setback on the eve of a bumper Premier League Saturday, with confirmation that winger Mykhailo Mudryk will miss the coming weeks after picking up an ankle injury in training.
The 25-year-old only arrived at Spurs on transfer deadline day, joining on a season-long loan from Chelsea, and had made a promising cameo off the bench in last weekend's goalless draw at Nottingham Forest. He is now expected to be sidelined until after the next international break, a blow for head coach Roberto De Zerbi, who previously worked with the Ukrainian at Shakhtar Donetsk.
"With Mudryk, it was a stupid injury and we hope he can come back as soon as possible. For him and for us," De Zerbi told reporters. "For him because he suffered too much and for us because we lost an important player. He played 15 minutes in Nottingham, he played well, but it's in the normal process when one player doesn't play for a long time."
Mudryk's route back to regular first-team football has already been a difficult one. His time at Chelsea stalled after an adverse finding for meldonium in a 2024 doping test led to a four-year ban from the Football Association. That suspension was later reduced following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and a subsequent agreement between the FA and the World Anti-Doping Agency, paving the way for his move across London this summer.
Spurs, without a league win so far this season, host Everton at 5.30pm on Saturday looking to arrest a run of results that has left them well off the pace set by the division's early leaders.
Elsewhere, Arsenal will look to make it four straight league wins when they travel to face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in the day's late kick-off. Mikel Arteta's side go into the match sitting on the back of consecutive victories, though they will be without centre-back William Saliba, who remains out with a back problem, and possibly Jurrien Timber, who is a doubt with a groin issue. Sunderland, unbeaten in their last two matches, will provide a stern test for the champions on home turf.
Among the other Premier League fixtures on Saturday, Aston Villa host Nottingham Forest at Villa Park as both sides search for a first league win of the campaign, while Chelsea entertain Hull City at Stamford Bridge looking to build on recent attacking form. Liverpool welcome Fulham to Anfield, Crystal Palace face Ipswich Town at Selhurst Park, and Bournemouth take on Brentford at the Vitality Stadium.
Away from team news, Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes and Manchester City's Erling Haaland remain the only Premier League representatives among the 16 forwards named on this year's Ballon d'Or shortlist, underlining growing debate about the English top flight's attacking output compared with continental rivals. Arsenal's contribution to individual honours this year has instead come through defensively minded contributors Gabriel Magalhães, Declan Rice and William Saliba, reflecting the balance that underpinned their title-winning campaign.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.