Mykhailo Mudryk is heading out to join Chelsea on their preseason tour after his doping ban was reduced.
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Xabi Alonso has spoken for the first time about the stunning news that Mykhailo Mudryk is going to be available immediately for selection after his doping ban was reduced.
The winger is flying out to Hong Kong to join his teammates for his first group training sessions since November 2024, and Alonso pointed out how much of a difficult return it could be after a very tough period mentally.
Alonso on integrating Mudryk
“He is coming to Hong Kong. We are happy for him – especially for him. We probably are not able to understand what he has been through in this time, and how he feels in this moment with the things he’s had to cope with.
“We want him to feel part of a team because he has been training on his own for a long time. He has the support of everyone, from the club, from his team-mates and staff. For sure it will take time, but once he is with us, we will see how things develop.”
Clearly he’s careful to not promise too much – it may take a long time for Mudryk to be ready to play at the highest level again.
“He has been training on his own every day; that must’ve been really, really hard because he wanted to play football and be part of a team – he was not allowed to do that for such a long time. So once this big change has happened, now things move and we will see if it’s quicker, slower, but we need to be aware of that.”
In other news…
Danny Welbeck is another attacking addition to Chelsea’s front line this week, and he officially signed for the club yesterday, and will also head out to join the squad in Asia.
Chelsea are inching closer to signing Pep Chavarria from Rayo Vallecano, according to the latest report from Fabrizio Romano.
