Xabi Alonso sends message to Mykhailo Mudryk over Chelsea return

Xabi Alonso says Mykhailo Mudryk ‘has the support of everyone at Chelsea’ (Reuters)

Xabi Alonso has called for patience over Mykhailo Mudryk ’s future at Chelsea following the end of his drugs ban.

On Friday, Chelsea confirmed that Mudryk is now eligible to play after his doping suspension was resolved by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Football Association .

The 25-year-old was charged with anti-doping rule violations by the Football Association in June last year after a sample taken in 2024 produced an adverse finding for the prohibited substance meldonium, which can increase respiratory capacity and stamina.

Mudryk said that the failed drugs test came as a ‘complete shock’ as he had never knowingly used a banned substance.

The Ukraine international, who Chelsea signed in an £89 million deal from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023, has not played for Chelsea since November 2024.

But Mudryk will now link up with Chelsea’s squad in Hong Kong for the remainder of their pre-season tour.

Mykhailo Mudryk is linking up with Chelsea’s pre-season squad in Hong Kong (AP)

‘We are happy for him, especially for him,’ Alonso said after Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham in Sydney on Saturday.

‘Because… probably we are not able to understand what we’ve been through in these times, with the things he had to cope with. We want him to be a part of the team. He has the support of everyone, from the club, the teammates, the staff.

‘For sure, it will take time, so once he’s with us we will see how things develop.’

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Asked about Mudryk’s immediate future, Alonso replied: ‘We need to see, it’s too early to tell to see in terms of fitness, the game time that you need to be involved again, it’s still too early to tell.

‘It will take time, once things have changed, things will start moving. For him it’s a massive change, he’s been training on his own every day, it must have been really, really hard because he wanted to play football, to be part of a team, and he was not allowed to do that for such a long time.

‘Once this change will happen things will move on and after we will see if it’s quicker or slower, but we need to be aware of that.’

‘I remember watching him at Shakhtar, the impact he had, how quick he is, how good he is in one-vs-one situations, how he could create a lot of situations on his own. He’s a special player. But it will take time, for sure.

‘To be honest, we were not expecting to have this great news at this moment. So we are very happy, we feel he will be happy with us.’