Alonso says Chelsea will give returning Mudryk full support

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·2 Agustus 2026

Alonso says Chelsea will give returning Mudryk full support

Xabi Alonso has said Chelsea will give Mykhailo Mudryk their full support as the winger prepares to make his return to football.

Mudryk has been cleared to return to football after being suspended since November 2024, due an adverse finding in a drugs test. After appealing the ban, the Football Association and the World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed this week that the issue is resolved, clearing Mudryk to return.

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The Ukrainian is set to link-up with Chelsea during their pre-season tour of Asia this week. Alonso said the squad are looking forward to welcoming the 25-year-old back into the group.

“He is coming to Hong Kong,” said Alonso.

“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.

“To have the Mudryk we had will take time, but now there is a change, things start moving. For him, it’s a massive change.

“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.”