A returning friend may need a simple welcome before a full account of what happened.

Rejoining a group after a long absence is harder than it looks from inside the group. The person is unsure whether they are still on the list, whether people are annoyed, whether they will have to justify the gap. Meeting them with questions puts the burden of the reunion on them at the moment they have least to spend.

Say you are glad they are back and mean it, then talk about anything else. The explanation, if it comes, will come more easily once they can see they are welcome without it.