Tosin Adarabioyo on Mykhailo Mudryk's Return to Chelsea
Tosin Adarabioyo did not reach for clichés when he was asked about Mykhailo Mudryk. He went straight for the strongest word he could find.
“Misha is a freak.”
Not in the pejorative sense, of course, but in that rare-athlete, outlier-of-the-human-body way. And watching Mudryk step back onto a pitch for Chelsea after 20 months away, you could see exactly what he meant.
Mudryk’s long road back
It was only a brief cameo in Hong Kong – 10 minutes at the end of a 1-0 defeat to Juventus at the Kai Tak Stadium – but it carried the weight of a full return. The FA had confirmed just days earlier that Mudryk’s anti-doping disciplinary proceedings had finally been resolved, clearing the way for his reintegration.
Xabi Alonso had told him before kick-off that he would get the final 10 to 15 minutes. Every Chelsea player on the pitch by that stage had been introduced in the second half, but one decision underlined what this moment meant to the squad: Nicolas Jackson had already agreed he would give up his place so Mudryk could have his.
When the fourth official’s board went up, the noise told its own story. More than 43,000 inside Kai Tak roared as Mudryk jogged onto the grass, a player they had not seen in Chelsea colours since November 2024 suddenly back in front of them.
For most, the surprise was that he was out there at all, after only a handful of training sessions with the team. For Adarabioyo, it was exactly what he expected.
“Misha is my guy,” the defender said. “I have kept in contact with him throughout and it is really nice to have him back. I am really happy for him.
You can see he is just really happy to be around and back in the environment. It is obviously going to take him some time but we are all here to support him.”
“His work rate is unbelievable”
The question, naturally, was how Mudryk had stayed in that kind of condition away from the squad for so long. Adarabioyo barely paused.
“Misha is a freak. His work rate is unbelievable.
There is no doubt he has been working hard throughout this whole time. I know he has been doing sessions away, I have seen him. I know the guys he has been working with so it's good.”
So when he was asked if Mudryk’s sharpness had surprised him, the answer came back instantly.
“No, not at all. Like I just said I know Misha really well, his work rate is phenomenal, so I am not surprised at all.”
For Chelsea, the cameo in Hong Kong was not about end product or match-winning moments. It was about seeing a player who has lived in limbo for almost two years finally cut loose again, and about a dressing room that clearly wants him back in the fold.
‘Uncle Tosin’ gets some company
If Mudryk’s return hinted at Chelsea’s future, the rest of the summer business has given the squad a very different kind of boost. Adarabioyo, affectionately dubbed “Uncle Tosin” by his teammates despite being only 28, is no longer the elder statesman of this group.
That title now falls to two seasoned Premier League campaigners: Danny Welbeck, 35, and Jordan Henderson, 36.
“No, thank God,” Adarabioyo laughed, when reminded he is no longer the ‘uncle’. “We have Welbeck now. I have known him for a long time just growing up in Manchester.”
Welbeck pulled on a Chelsea shirt for the first time – unofficially – in that same Juventus game, leading the line for the opening 45 minutes before making way at half-time. It was a quiet but solid start, the sort of bedding-in exercise pre-season was made for, and Adarabioyo is in no doubt about what his fellow Mancunian can bring.
“We have all seen that he scores goals. He is a striker and he is here to help. The way that he can help is by scoring goals and I am sure he will do that.”
Henderson’s arrival adds another layer of experience, and Adarabioyo did not need long to define their combined impact.
“Pure experience and at the same time, they are winners. They will bring that winning mentality to the club and hopefully we will continue that way.”
Between Mudryk’s raw, restless energy and the calm authority of Welbeck and Henderson, Chelsea’s squad suddenly looks less like a collection of prospects and more like a group with a spine, a hierarchy, and a few hard-earned scars.
Now the question is simple: how quickly can that blend of freakish athleticism and veteran know-how turn into something that wins matches when the real season starts?
