Following 20 months on the sidelines, Mudryk was cleared to return this summer after the anti-proceedings that had kept him out of action since December 2024 were resolved.

The Ukraine international linked up with the Blues squad during our pre-season tour of Australia and Asia, and made his return to the pitch as a substitute in our friendly against Juventus in Hong Kong.

Along with his Chelsea team-mates, Mudryk is now back at Cobham as manager Xabi Alonso puts the finishing touches on our squad's preparations for the forthcoming campaign – and the 25-year-old couldn’t be happier to be back.

‘Of course I’m very happy,’ said Mudryk. ‘It's been a while, so to stand back at the same training ground, it's a really happy moment for me.

‘I feel good, I feel great. I'm grateful to be back on the pitch. It was such a nice feeling to see everyone again. It was a warm welcome.

‘I missed a lot of the process, the training sessions, games especially, to compete to win and to always be hungry for more.’

Many of Mudryk’s Chelsea team-mates have mentioned how impressed they have been with the fitness levels the Ukrainian has shown on his return, and he filled us in on the training routine he observed to ensure he could come back in the best shape possible.

‘I'd say it was like a pre-season for 18 months,’ he continued. ‘So I've been training, I've been training hard. I didn't give up and I just tried to work as hard as I could.

‘I was working six days a week with proper recovery, with proper sleep schedule, food, everything. Everything was the same, just double sessions per day.

‘It was to come back and to show myself again in the football world. That was my mission and I knew what I had to do for that. Only through hard work can you reach something.’