Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso says that handing Mykhaylo Mudryk an opportunity against Juventus on Wednesday was an 'emotional experience'.

Less than a week ago, Mudryk was serving a four-year ban for a doping offence, but that was lifted on Friday afternoon.

Having flown to Hong Kong to link up with the first-team squad, Mudryk moved into contention for an instant appearance by Alonso.

In the 82nd minute of a 1-0 defeat to Juventus, Mudryk was introduced to a huge ovation, and looked relatively sharp for a player who lasted played 616 days ago.

Speaking at a press conference, Alonso acknowledged that he was delighted to provide the Ukrainian star his return to football.

Alonso speaks on Mudryk Chelsea return

The Spaniard told reporters: "For sure, I'm really pleased for him. It was emotional for everyone from the club to see him back, especially when I told him that before the game that was my idea, that he could play 10-15 minutes.

"He was thrilled, for sure. It was, after such a long period, to be back on the pitch, it was a great feeling for him and a great feeling for everyone as well."

Mudryk will hope to make another outing for Chelsea when they play AC Milan on Saturday.

Why did Colwill, Palmer miss Chelsea, Juventus friendly?

Meanwhile, Alonso played down any concerns regarding the absences of Levi Colwill and Cole Palmer for the Juventus game.

He said: "They had a few, not injuries, discomforts. Cole with a whack and Levi as well, so no point to take today's risk and hopefully they will be fine for Saturday.

On Palmer, he added: "It's a whack, a contact injury that he had against Spurs. So it's not that."

Chelsea have now lost successive friendly matches, the other coming to Tottenham Hotspur by a 2-1 scoreline last weekend.