EPL: Mudryk needs time to regain match fitness, says Alonso

n n

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has welcomed the return of Mykhailo Mudryk to the club but says the Ukraine international will need time to regain full fitness after serving a lengthy suspension.

n

Mudryk is set to rejoin Chelsea’s squad for their pre-season tour in Hong Kong after resolving his doping case with the Football Association.

n

The 25-year-old winger has not featured in a competitive match since November 2024 after he was provisionally suspended for returning an adverse analytical finding for the banned substance meldonium.

n

The FA concluded its anti-doping proceedings after Mudryk accepted breaching anti-doping rules and agreed to a suspension equivalent to the one year and eight months he had already served.

n

As reported by BBC Sport on Saturday, speaking after Chelsea’s 2-1 pre-season defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in Sydney on Saturday, Alonso said the club was delighted to have the winger back but cautioned that his return to action would not be rushed.

n

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

n

“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.

n

“But we are happy for him, especially for him, because we are probably not able to 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.”

n

During his suspension, Mudryk was not permitted to train at Chelsea’s training ground or work with the club’s coaching staff. Instead, he maintained his fitness by working with a private coach and goalkeepers while training at non-league side Uxbridge.

n

Alonso acknowledged that returning to competitive football after such a prolonged absence would take patience.

n

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

n

“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 was not allowed to do that for such a long time.

n

“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.”

n

The Chelsea boss also admitted Mudryk’s availability was unexpected, particularly after the club strengthened its attacking options during his absence.

n

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

n

Chelsea currently have Pedro Neto, Estevao Willian, Jamie Gittens and Geovany Quenda among their wide attacking options, while Cole Palmer and new £117 million signing Morgan Rogers are also capable of playing on the wings.

n

PUNCH Online had reported that the winger had been cleared to return to competitive football immediately after the Court of Arbitration for Sport partially upheld his appeal against a four-year doping ban.n

n n