Mudryk Needs Time to Get Fit Again, Says Alonso

Chelsea's manager Xabi Alonso is happy Mykhailo Mudryk is back at the club. But he says the Ukrainian player will need time to get his fitness back after a long suspension.

Mudryk is set to join Chelsea’s squad for their pre-season tour in Hong Kong. This comes after he sorted out his doping case with the Football Association.

The 25-year-old winger has not played in a competitive match since November 2024. He was suspended for returning a positive test for meldonium, a banned substance.

The FA finished its anti-doping case after Mudryk agreed he broke the rules. He accepted a suspension equal to the one year and eight months he had already served.

According to BBC Sport on Saturday, after Chelsea lost 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur in Sydney, Alonso said the club was pleased to have the winger back. But he also warned that they would not rush his return to action.

“Yes, he is coming to Hong Kong, but I haven’t spoken to him yet,” Alonso said.

“It’s too early to tell how he is in terms of fitness, in terms of the game time you need to be involved again, so it’s still too early to tell.

“But we are happy for him, especially for him, because we probably cannot understand what he has been through during this time and how he feels at the moment with the things he has had to cope with.”

During his suspension, Mudryk could not train at Chelsea’s training ground or work with the coaching staff. Instead, he kept fit by working with a private coach and training with goalkeepers at non-league side Uxbridge.

Alonso understands that coming back to competitive football after such a long break will require patience.

“We expect that it will take time,” he said.

“He trained on his own every day, and I think it had to be really, really hard because he wanted to play football. He wanted to be part of a team, and he could not do that for such a long time.

“Afterwards we will see if it’s quicker or slower, but we need to be aware of that. We want him to feel part of the team. Once he is with us, we will see how things develop.”

The Chelsea boss also said Mudryk’s return was a surprise, especially since the club added more attacking players while he was away.

“Yeah, to be honest, we were not expecting to have this great news at this moment,” Alonso said.

Chelsea now has Pedro Neto, Estevao Willian, Jamie Gittens, and Geovany Quenda among their wide attackers. Cole Palmer and new £117 million signing Morgan Rogers can also play on the wings.