Great to be back': Hudson-Odoi excited as Chelsea pre-season kicks off

"It was an amazing feeling. I’ve been working as hard as possible to come back to train with the team and play games," Callum Hudson-Odoi told Chelsea's media team from the club's Cobham ground

"It’s been frustrating to be out [during injury lay-off last season] and watching everyone train, play games and enjoy themselves, so I’m delighted to be back.

"For myself, I wanted to push myself to the max every time whether it’s on the pitch or off the pitch, trying to give my max."

Hudson-Odoi missed a large part of the 2021/22 season through injuries. He reported to training in June to work on his fitness ahead of the next campaign.

On Saturday July 2, he was joined by some other Chelsea first-teamers as the pre-season officially kicked off.

"We did a lot of gym work of the pitch to get a bit bigger and stronger, to try to be more muscular," Hudson-Odoi added.

"But at the same time, on the pitch it’s been working hard doing individual sessions. It feels great to be back, it’s amazing."