Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has welcomed the return of Mykhailo Mudryk to his squad but cautioned that it is far too early to assess what the winger can offer, after the Ukrainian spent over a year on the sidelines following a doping case.

Mudryk, 25, last played a competitive match in November 2024 before being provisionally suspended by the Football Association (FA) for an "adverse finding" relating to the banned substance meldonium. The FA formally closed its anti-doping proceedings after Mudryk admitted to breaching anti-doping regulations and accepted a suspension equivalent to the one year and eight months he had already served.

Joining the tour in Hong Kong

Chelsea are currently on their pre-season tour, where they suffered a 2-1 defeat to 10-man Tottenham in a friendly at Accor Stadium in Sydney. Alonso confirmed Mudryk would link up with the squad at their next stop. "Yes, he is coming to Hong Kong, but I haven't spoken to him yet," the manager 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," Alonso continued. "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."

Training in isolation

During his ban, Mudryk was barred from using Chelsea's training facilities or working with any club staff. He responded by hiring his own private coach and goalkeepers, and ran personal training sessions at non-league side Uxbridge.

"We expect that it will take time," Alonso 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 was not allowed to do that for such a long time. Once he is with us, we will see how things develop."

A crowded wing

Alonso also acknowledged that Mudryk's unexpected return comes at a time when Chelsea have assembled an array of attacking options. Pedro Neto, Estevao Willian, Jamie Gittens, and Geovany Quenda are all available out wide, while Cole Palmer and new £117 million signing Morgan Rogers can also operate on the flanks.

"Yeah, to be honest, we were not expecting to have this great news at this moment," the Chelsea boss admitted.

De Zerbi and a former bond

Tottenham manager Roberto de Zerbi, who coached Mudryk at Shakhtar Donetsk before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, also offered warm words for the winger following Spurs' victory. "He is another who is my son," De Zerbi said. "I am very happy. He deserves to play. He is a top guy, a good player. I hope he can show, in this next season, what he suffered over the last two years."

Alonso echoed that sentiment, reflecting on Mudryk's qualities before the ban: "I remember watching him at Shakhtar, the impact he had, how quick he was, how good he was in one-on-one situations. He's a special player, but he will need time, for sure."