Mudryk's Inspiring Return: Tosin Adarabioyo's Admiration
Tosin Adarabioyo did not reach for clichés when asked about Mykhailo Mudryk. He went straight for the truth as he sees it.
“Misha is a freak.”
There was no malice in it, only admiration. The sort of awe reserved for a teammate who has just walked back into the dressing room after 20 months away and looked, somehow, like he had never left.
Mudryk’s long road back
Mudryk’s return came under the bright lights of Hong Kong on Wednesday night, a brief cameo in a 1-0 defeat to Juventus at the Kai Tak Stadium that meant far more than the scoreline suggested. It was his first appearance for Chelsea since November 2024, his first steps back in blue since the FA confirmed last week that a resolution had been reached over his anti-doping disciplinary case.
Xabi Alonso had been clear with him before kick-off: 10 to 15 minutes, no more. A gentle reintroduction, nothing rushed. Every Chelsea player on the pitch at the time would be replaced in the second half, but one switch had already been agreed. Nicolas Jackson would give up his place to make room for Mudryk.
When the fourth official’s board went up and Mudryk’s number flashed, the reaction from the 43,000-plus inside Kai Tak was instant. A roar, a release. For a player who has spent almost two years on the outside, that kind of welcome matters.
He has only had a handful of sessions back with the squad. Under normal circumstances, a 20‑month absence would leave a player short, heavy-legged, searching for rhythm. Mudryk, though, is not a normal case.
That is exactly Tosin’s point.
“His work rate is unbelievable”
“Misha is my guy,” Tosin said afterwards. “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.”
The centre-back has seen the unseen work. The lonely sessions, the private graft away from Cobham.
“Misha is a freak. His work rate is unbelievable,” he continued. “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 asked if Mudryk’s sharpness surprised him, Tosin barely paused.
“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.”
A few minutes in a pre-season friendly will not define Mudryk’s second act at Chelsea. But the way he has carried himself to get to this point, and the way his teammates talk about him, suggests the club are braced for a player with something to prove and the tools to prove it.
“Uncle Tosin” gets company
While Mudryk fights to restart his Chelsea story, the dynamics around Tosin have shifted too. Once the elder statesman in a notoriously young squad, the 28-year-old had earned the affectionate nickname “Uncle Tosin” from his teammates.
That status has gone in a single summer.
Danny Welbeck, 35, and Jordan Henderson, 36, have arrived to inject experience, voice and medals into a dressing room that has often been accused of lacking all three.
“No, thank God,” Tosin 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 made his unofficial Chelsea debut in Hong Kong, starting up front and playing the opening 45 minutes before being withdrawn. It was a gentle introduction for a striker whose career has been built on intelligent movement and big-game moments.
Tosin knows exactly what Chelsea are hoping to tap into.
“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, too, arrives with a clear purpose. Premier League titles, Champions League nights, the scars and lessons of a decade at the top. Tosin did not dress it up.
“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.”
A different Chelsea taking shape
So, in one sweltering night in Hong Kong, three strands of Chelsea’s evolving identity crossed.
Mudryk, the prodigious winger returning from the wilderness, cheered like a hero for simply stepping back onto the grass. Tosin, no longer the dressing-room elder, but still a central voice, vouching for his teammate’s character and work. Welbeck and Henderson, the seasoned arrivals tasked with steering a volatile, talented squad towards something more stable, more ruthless.
The result against Juventus will fade quickly. The images that will linger are different: Mudryk sprinting down the touchline again, Welbeck in Chelsea blue for the first time, Henderson easing into the rhythm of a new midfield.
Chelsea have spent years talking about potential. With Mudryk back, “Uncle Tosin” surrounded by real veterans, and proven winners walking through the door, the question now is whether that potential finally hardens into something more unforgiving.
