As we say, the approach from Chelsea management is understandable. And from their angle, there is a good argument to be made. Having not seen competitive action since October 2024, Mudryk's body and mind will need time to adjust. There's a player still in there. A potential world-beater. But no serious football for over 20 months. Indeed, no bounce games nor even elite training with elite fellow pros for the same amount of time... both Mudryk and those around him will need to show all the patience they can to get the Ukraine international back to serious working order.
And that's just the daily rhythm of a pro footballer. You also need to acknowledge the type of player Mudryk is. Pace. Blinding pace. Everything done at a breakneck speed. Mentally, he'll be ready and expecting to pick up from where he left off. But will his body - after all that time away from a professional environment - feel the same?
So a watchful approach is understandable. Indeed, a source close to a number of Chelsea's coaching staff has told Football Presse that the argument has been raging for some months about how to handle Mudryk's return.
When it became apparent in July that Mudryk's doping case was coming to a conclusion, the news was welcomed by those inside Chelsea. They never gave up on the 25 year-old - though rules and circumstances prevented anyone connected with the club to reach out to the player. But plans have since been debated and written up regarding how best to integrate Mudryk back into life at Stamford Bridge.
Loan offers have been encouraged, though not actively sought thus far. News of Leeds United's attempt last week does ring true - as does Chelsea's reluctance to sanction the move. Xabi Alonso, who is now Mudryk's fifth manager as a Chelsea player, hinted at management's plans for the winger ahead of Monday night's Premier League opener at Fulham.
"It's too early to tell how he is in terms of fitness, in terms of the game time you need to be involved again, so it's still too early to tell," said Xabi.
"But we are happy for him, especially for him, because we are probably not able to understand what he has been through during this time and how he feels at the moment with the things he has had to cope with."
The Blues manager continued: "We expect that it will take time.
"He trained on his own every day, and I think it had to be really, really hard because he wanted to play football, he wanted to be part of a team, and he was not allowed to do that for such a long time.
"Afterwards we will see if it's quicker or slower, but we need to be aware of that. We want him to feel part of the team. Once he is with us, we will see how things develop."
As his manager says, Mudryk has been through a lot. And for this column, the entire saga has been an absolute disgrace. A footballer's career is short. To be left in limbo by the FA for over a year. To be have his life and career put on-hold for that time. Banned from his club. Banned from mixing with staff and teammates. Just left on his own for all this time. No counter support from the FA. No support from the PFA (are they even a thing now?) ... and all the while he was still effectively not guilty. It just stinks.
Even the ruling, after leaving the player hanging for over 13 months, deserved greater scrutiny. The FA gave him the maximum four years in January this year. Yet, after Mudryk's camp appealed to the Court of Arbitration in Sport, the settlement that was reached in July was for 'time served'. The FA, in their explanation, stating that part of the reason for the reduction was that the amount of meldonium found in Mudryk's system back in October 2024 was so low that new rules would've seen him cleared today. Yet for all that, the ruling panel still in their wisdom gave him the absolute maximum playing ban that they were allowed. As we say, an absolute disgrace.
Thirteen months in limbo. Then a four-year ban. Then appeal. And six months later the ban disappears. What a sorry mess.
Of course, Mudryk wants to get past all this. He just wants to play. And as much as this column can understand Chelsea's approach, we'd argue Mudryk needs to do what he was born to do. He needs feel the electricity of the crowd. His body needs to feel that exhilaration when he sinks a fullback, bringing thousands in the stands to their feet. The lad needs to play. Not in front of a couple of hundred locals and their dogs with the U21s, but at Premier League level, in front of Premier League crowds. A reward for everything he and his support team did during these past 20 months.
It was Mudryk who hired personal coaches to work with him week-in, week-out while the FA left him in the dark. It was Mudryk who hired a goalkeeper to work with him in training. It was also the Ukrainian who rented the pitch at local London club Uxbridge FC, while also doing the same abroad for separate training camps. Again, no counter support from the FA nor the PFA, he and his team had to do it on their own.
So for all that, the best thing Chelsea's management team, Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, can do now is find Mudryk a decent club, with a decent manager, and just let the lad play. There'll be ups. There'll be downs. But after this disgraceful saga, no matter what happens, the winner will be Mykhailo Mudryk.
For his approach. For his professionalism. Chelsea should grant Mudryk this reward.