Alonso said: “It’s premature to judge his fitness or match sharpness right now, so we’ll need more time before we can really say.”
“But we’re delighted for him—above all for him—because we probably can’t fully appreciate everything he’s gone through and how he feels after dealing with so much.”
Mudryk hasn’t been able to use Chelsea’s facilities or work with club staff. Instead, he hired a private coach and goalkeepers, training at non-league Uxbridge.
“We anticipate it will take time,” Alonso added.
“He worked on his own every day, and that must have been incredibly tough—he wanted to play, to be part of a group, but he wasn’t allowed to for such a long spell.”
“We’ll see whether his progress is quicker or slower, but we have to keep that in mind. Our aim is to help him feel part of the squad. Once he’s with us, we’ll assess how things evolve.”
Alonso admitted Mudryk’s return is unexpected, especially as Chelsea have assembled multiple alternatives on the wings.
Their options include Pedro Neto, Estevao Willian, Jamie Gittens and Geovany Quenda, while both Cole Palmer and new £117m arrival Morgan Rogers can also operate out wide.
“Honestly, we didn’t expect such positive news at this point,” he said.