Mykhailo Mudryk returns as Chelsea boosted by seven new arrivals before Juventus clash

Xabi Alonso sees Blues squad bolstered for Hong Kong leg of pre-season tour

Mykhailo Mudryk has returned to Chelsea training, with new signing Danny Welbeck among five other arrivals for the latest stop on their pre-season tour.

Mudryk arrived to join Xabi Alonso’s Blues squad in Hong Kong on Monday, having last week resolved his anti-doping disciplinary proceedings with the Football Association (FA).

The winger was provisionally suspended by the FA in December 2024 after an "adverse finding in a routine urine test" that occurred when he was on international duty with Ukraine and revealed a low concentration of the prohibited substance meldonium.

Mudryk was charged with breaching the FA’s anti-doping regulations in June 2025 and following a hearing in January was handed a four-year ban that would have seen him unable to play again until December 2028, though he appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

On Friday, it was confirmed that Mudryk had resolved the appeal proceedings with the FA and was eligible to return to competition with immediate effect having accepted the anti-doping rule violations and period of ineligibility equal to the time already served.

It was also pointed out that changes to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) rules mean that if Mudryk's sample was collected today, the concentration of meldonium in the sample would not have been reported and no anti-doping rule violations would have resulted.

Mudryk reiterated that he had never knowingly or intentionally taken any banned substance as he looked to the future after “the most difficult period” of his career.

Back in action: Mykhailo Mudryk has resumed his Chelsea career with immediate effect

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Now free to play, Mudryk was expected to join up with the Chelsea squad as their pre-season tour of Australia and Asia moves on to Hong Kong for a friendly against Juventus at Kai Tak Sports Park on Wednesday.

He arrived on Monday and was seen taking part in training under Alonso, who said after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat by 10-man rivals Tottenham in the Sydney Super Cup that he was “happy” for Mudryk coming back but insisted it was “too early” to make assessments of his fitness or how much game time he may get.

Alonso’s squad has also been boosted by the return from post-World Cup holidays for Portugal winger Pedro Neto and Belgian goalkeeper Mike Penders, plus another summer signing in Geovany Quenda.

American goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina has also joined Chelsea in Hong Kong, while the BBC report that new set-piece coach Austin MacPhee is also now with the squad after moving from Aston Villa to succeed Bernardo Cueva, who has transitioned into a new role under Alonso.

Chelsea have also now confirmed the signing of Jordan Henderson, who remains on holiday following England’s run to the semi-finals of the World Cup, where he required arm surgery after a freak accident that occurred while he was celebrating a famous last-16 win over Mexico at the Estadio Azteca.