Xabi Alonso Confirms Mykhailo Mudryk’s Return to Chelsea Ahead of Asian Tour

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso said he is delighted to have winger Mykhailo Mudryk back with the squad after the Ukrainian completed his suspension and is set to rejoin the team during their pre‑season tour in Asia.

Mudryk has not played a competitive match since November 2024, when he was provisionally suspended following an adverse finding for the banned substance meldonium.

The Football Association concluded its anti‑doping proceedings after the 25‑year‑old accepted responsibility for breaching the regulations and agreed to a sanction equivalent to the one year and eight months he had already served.

He will link up with Chelsea in Hong Kong, having missed the club’s 2‑1 friendly defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in Sydney.

Alonso admitted it is still too early to predict when Mudryk will be ready for competitive action after almost two years away from football.

“It’s too early to tell how he is in terms of fitness, or the game time needed to be involved again,” Alonso said. “We will see how things develop once he is with us.”

The coach added that Mudryk trained on his own every day during the suspension, working with a private coach and goalkeepers at non‑league side Uxbridge, because he was barred from Chelsea’s facilities.

“He wanted to play football and be part of a team, and it must have been really hard not being allowed to do that for such a long time,” Alonso remarked.

Mudryk returns to a Chelsea attack that has been bolstered by the arrivals of Pedro Neto, Estevao Willian, Jamie Gittens, Geovany Quenda, Cole Palmer and the £117 million signing Morgan Rogers, all of whom can operate in wide positions.

Alonso said the timing of Mudryk’s return was unexpected: “We were not expecting to have this great news at this moment.”

Former Shakhtar Donetsk coach Roberto de Zerbi, who worked with Mudryk before the 2022 Russian invasion, also welcomed the news, calling the winger “a top guy” and expressing hope that he can showcase his quality in the coming season.

Reflecting on Mudryk’s pre‑Chelsea days, Alonso recalled watching him at Shakhtar: “He was quick, dangerous in one‑on‑one situations and could create chances on his own. He’s a special player, but he will need time to get back to his best.”