"Misha is a freak. His work rate is unbelievable." That's Tosin Adarabioyo on Mykhailo Mudryk — and coming from someone who's watched him grind through a 20-month absence from professional football, it lands differently than a throwaway compliment.
Mudryk returned to action on Wednesday in Chelsea's 1-0 pre-season loss to Juventus in Hong Kong, coming off the bench for the final 10-15 minutes at the Kai Tak Stadium. Nicolas Jackson voluntarily gave up his place to allow the Ukrainian to enter the pitch — a small but telling detail about how the squad views his comeback. More than 43,000 fans in attendance made sure he knew he'd been missed.
Back after 20 months — and apparently not missing a step
The FA resolved Mudryk's anti-doping disciplinary case last week. He'd only just returned to training with the squad, meaning his Juventus appearance came after a handful of sessions at most. That he was fit enough to feature at all says something. That he apparently looks sharp says more.
Tosin wasn't remotely surprised. "I know he has been doing sessions away, I have seen him. I know the guys he has been working with," the centre-back said. When your teammate is running private fitness sessions throughout an enforced absence, it suggests someone who isn't ready to let their career quietly dissolve.
Xabi Alonso had reportedly told Mudryk before kick-off that he'd get his 10-15 minutes. The manager is clearly easing him back with a plan rather than throwing him in blind — sensible, given the circumstances. Chelsea's attacking depth will benefit enormously if Mudryk can rediscover anything close to his pre-ban form, and his odds of featuring regularly in the Premier League opener will sharpen considerably with each session he banks between now and August.
A squad adding experience at either end
Tosin also spoke warmly about summer arrivals Danny Welbeck, 35, and Jordan Henderson, 36 — both of whom have nudged the Chelsea centre-back off his unofficial perch as the squad's elder statesman. He didn't seem to mind. "No, thank God," he joked.
Welbeck played the first 45 minutes of Chelsea's Hong Kong opener before being subbed, while Henderson brings the kind of winning experience that costs nothing in a dressing room. Tosin's assessment was straightforward: "Pure experience and at the same time, they are winners."
Whether or not Chelsea's summer recruitment translates into results this season remains an open question — but getting Mudryk back, fit, and hungry is the subplot nobody had firmly pencilled into their projections. "I know Misha really well, his work rate is phenomenal, so I am not surprised at all," Tosin said. That confidence from a teammate who's been watching closely throughout is worth more than any pre-season fitness bulletin.
