Mykhailo Mudryk Cleared for Tottenham Debut

Roberto De Zerbi will finally have Mykhailo Mudryk at his disposal this weekend, with the Tottenham head coach confirming the winger is fit enough to make his Spurs debut on Saturday.

Mudryk has not played a competitive game since November 2024. Nearly two years gone in an instant. Now, at 25, he is back in a Premier League squad and, according to his new manager, ready to contribute – in bursts.

“I don’t know how much time he needs to be available to start the game,” De Zerbi admitted in his pre-match press conference. “One part of the game, I think he’s ready right now to play 20, 15, 30 minutes.”

For a Tottenham side still trying to catch fire under De Zerbi, that sounds like a jolt of electricity waiting on the bench.

From suspension to second chance

Mudryk’s absence was not down to injury or form. His career was abruptly halted in late 2024 when he received a provisional suspension after a low concentration of meldonium was detected in his system. The heart medication is on the banned list because of its potential to boost recovery and endurance, and the fallout was brutal: almost two full seasons wiped away.

He trained alone, away from team structures, away from tactical drills, away from the rhythm and noise of a dressing room. Fitness was maintained through individual sessions, but match sharpness and game understanding are harder to replicate in isolation.

The long-running saga finally eased in July, when WADA reached an agreement with the English FA. Under current regulations, the levels of meldonium found in 2024 would not be recorded as a positive test. Mudryk was cleared to return immediately, his name no longer attached to an unresolved case.

Reunited with his “football father”

Mudryk did not step straight into a vacuum. He had recently been involved with Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea squad during their pre-season tour, at least rejoining a group environment and feeling the ball move at full speed again. But the lack of competitive minutes still looms large as Tottenham work out how quickly to throw him into the Premier League fire.

De Zerbi knows exactly what he is dealing with. He was the coach who first unleashed Mudryk’s potential at Shakhtar Donetsk, guiding the Ukrainian through his breakout years and forming what the player has previously described as a “football father” relationship.

The Italian is determined not to turn this into a sentimental reunion story. He wants a ruthless meritocracy.

“Now I think he’s a normal player like (Micky) Van de Ven, like another player,” De Zerbi said. “If he deserves it, he will play or not.”

The emotional bond, though, is real. De Zerbi reflected on their shared past in Ukraine and the turbulence that has followed Mudryk ever since.

“The last problem, the suspension, but by the end the potential was clear, is clear, and now his challenge is to respect all his qualities, because he’s a great player,” he said.

A fresh start after Chelsea struggles

Mudryk arrives in north London carrying the weight of his Chelsea price tag without the Stamford Bridge shirt. His time there never matched the scale of the investment, the performances never catching up with the hype.

Tottenham represents a reset. New colours, familiar coach, same raw talent.

De Zerbi wants this season to strip away the noise and expectation that swirled around Mudryk’s move to England.

“He has to feel this season, to live this season in the right way, not too much pressure,” the Spurs boss stressed. “It is the right moment for him to show all people things because if Chelsea paid 100m four years ago – they bought a lot of big, big players, no? – they thought very well about the qualities of Mudryk.”

The message is clear. The fee still tells a story. The talent never vanished. Now comes the hard part: proving it, 20 or 30 minutes at a time, in a Tottenham shirt.