Xabi Alonso has revealed Mykhailo Mudryk may make his first appearance for Chelsea in 20 months on Wednesday to officially mark his return from the footballing wilderness.
Mudryk participated in an open training session with his team-mates in Hong Kong on Tuesday at the Kai Tak Stadium, where the loudest cheer from the local fans was reserved for when the 25-year-old Ukrainian was shown on the big screen.
Chelsea face Juventus in a pre-season friendly at the same stadium on Wednesday.
Mudryk has not played for Chelsea since November 2024, when he started and scored away at Heidenheim in the Conference League. An £89million signing from Shakhtar Donetsk, he was then suspended from football after failing a doping test for the banned substance meldonium.
However, his ban ended this week after a resolution was reached with the FA.
Speaking from Hong Kong ahead of their Juve friendly, Alonso said about Mudryk: ‘Yes, he could play. Maybe 90 minutes is too early, but he can be selected. He’s selected, so he can play.
Mykhailo Mudryk could play his first game in 20 months for Chelsea on Wednesday
‘He trained yesterday, came directly from the airport to the hotel. So yesterday was more about the feelings, more about the emotions, to be back with the players to assess the fitness level.
‘We are thrilled that Misha could be with us. You could see his smile, how great the feeling is for him to be part of the team because he has been training on his own for a long time.
‘Fitness level, we will see, but he has been working hard, and now it’s about trying to get him back into things with team-mates and integrating into the dynamic. But the first feeling for everyone is that we are happy he is back with the team and us.’
Daily Mail Sport reported this week how multiple clubs have approached Chelsea to ask about Mudryk, with Coventry, managed by Frank Lampard, among those interested in a potential loan.
All options are open from the perspective of Chelsea, who want to assess their player in this pre-season first. That has been relayed directly to Mudryk upon his return.
Meanwhile, Austin MacPhee was also involved in Chelsea’s open training session after arriving from Aston Villa to take over as their new set-piece specialist. Danny Welbeck is also in contention to face Juventus after signing from Brighton.
