Mykhailo Mudryk
Mykhailo Mudryk will link up with his Chelsea team-mates in Hong Kong, manager Xabi Alonso has confirmed, but any assessment of the Ukrainian’s condition is “very, very early”. The 25-year-old was cleared to play again straight away after the Football Association and WADA settled his appeal against a four-year ban.
That long ordeal began with an out-of-competition control in October 2024 detecting a low concentration of meldonium, resulting in a provisional suspension in December that year and ultimately a four-year ban by an independent Regulatory Commission in January 2026. Later changes to WADA’s procedures would mean that an identical outcome today would not have led to charges at all.
Reflecting on Chelsea’s chastening defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in Sydney, Alonso said of the winger’s impending return:
“Yes, he is coming to Hong Kong, but I haven’t spoken to him yet.”
The Spaniard then expanded on Mudryk’s physical readiness:
“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, so it’s still too early to tell. 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.”
Alonso stressed that patience would be the guiding principle, and closed with an acknowledgement of the winger’s solitary regimen:
“We expect that it will take time. 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. Afterwards, we will see if it’s quicker or slower, but we need to be aware of that. We want him to feel part of the team. Once he is with us, we will see how things develop.”
Mudryk was banned from Cobham, cut off from club staff during his suspension, and had to hire private coaches and goalkeepers and train at non-league Uxbridge. He joined from Shakhtar Donetsk for £62 million and has scored 10 goals in 73 appearances.
Spurs beat Chelsea 2-1 in Sydney friendly
Sandro Tonali’s deflected effort on 17 minutes broke the deadlock before Estevao equalised four minutes later, but Tottenham won 2-1 in Australia. The Brazilian scored at the far post after a quick run from midfield by Romeo Lavia.
Kevin Danso was sent off for bringing down Joao Pedro just three minutes after his introduction at the break, and Chelsea took complete control, with Estevao rattling the crossbar amid a profusion of chances. However, Antonin Kinsky was ruthless between the sticks, repelling both Joao Pedro and Estevao as the Blues could only muster four shots on target.
Jamie Donley’s strike rebounded off the woodwork before Richarlison side-footed into an unguarded net at the death, condemning Alonso to his first defeat after a 6-4 dismantling of Western Sydney Wanderers. Juventus are in Hong Kong to face the Blues on Wednesday, who will then travel to Jakarta to face AC Milan.