Chelsea star Mykhailo Mudryk hit by positive drugs test and is suspended from football
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Chelsea's £89million winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been provisionally suspended from football and may face a lengthy ban after a positive drugs test.
The 23-year-old has missed the club’s last five games and has not featured since a Conference League match at Heidenheim on November 28. Manager Enzo Maresca had put the Ukrainian’s absence down to illness.
However, it is understood that Mudryk, who joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023, has been unavailable for selection due to a suspected adverse analytical finding.
FA rules state that a player notified of a test result can be provisionally suspended. They then have the chance to respond with an explanation before a decision is made on a potential charge. A guilty finding can lead to a ban of up to four years.
Chelsea are thought to have launched their own investigation. Reports in Ukraine that the substance is meldonium are understood to be correct.
Mudryk took a test in August which was clear and insists he has not changed his behaviour since. There is a belief that any potential contaminationmay have happened outside the country because meldonium is not available in the UK. Mudryk is waiting on the result of a ‘B’ sample and whether it confirms the findings of his ‘A’ sample.
Mykhailo Mudryk is understood to have been suspended from football after being notified of a positive drugs test
The Ukrainian winger has not featured for Chelsea since the end of November - with manager Enzo Maresca putting his absence down to illness
Meldonium is a medication used to treat heart conditions including low blood flow. It can aid athletes with endurance and recovery. The drug hit the headlines in March 2016 when tennis star Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion, tested positive for it.
Mudryk is thought to be devastated and is co-operating with his club, who are supportive of his explanation. Chelsea said in a statement yesterday: ‘Chelsea can confirm the FA recently contacted Mykhailo Mudryk concerning an adverse finding in a routine urine test.
‘The club and Mykhailo fully support the FA’s testing programme and all our players are regularly tested. Mykhailo has confirmed categorically that he has never knowingly used any banned substances.
‘Mykhailo and the club will work with the relevant authorities to establish what has caused the adverse finding. The club will not be commenting any further.’
Mudryk wrote on Instagram: ‘I can confirm I have been notified that a sample I provided to the FA contained a banned substance. This has come as a complete shock as I have never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules, and am working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened.
‘I know I have not done anything wrong and remain hopeful I will be back on the pitch soon. I cannot say more now due to the confidentiality of the process, but I will as soon as I can.’
Mail Sport has been in contact with a specialist sports law firm acting for Mudryk since Friday and has been repeatedly told he had not been charged with a doping offence. They have again been contacted for comment.
Mudryk has started only one Premier League match this season but has been a regular in the Conference League, scoring three goals in four appearances.
Mudryk showed off his frame on Instagram in a recent upload from a lift at his London home
The 23-year-old has featured heavily in Chelsea's Europa Conference League campaign
After playing 90 minutes and scoring at Heidenheim on November 28 he was an unused substitute against Aston Villa, before being left out of the squad for games against Southampton, Tottenham and Brentford and the Conference League trip to Kazakhstan to face Astana.
He has not been seen training at Cobham in the interim.
The temporary suspension prohibits all football-related activity.
Mudryk was one of Europe’s hottest properties when he arrived at Stamford Bridge from Shakhtar last year, with Arsenal having been among those in the hunt for his services.
Capped 28 times by his country, he signed an eight-year deal with Chelsea in January. But of his 53 Premier League appearances, only 26 have come as a starter.
