Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been provisionally suspended from football after being notified by the Football Association of a positive drug test.
The 23-year-old has missed the club’s last five matches and has not appeared since the Europa Conference League match on November 28. Coach Enzo Maresca has attributed the Ukrainian’s absence to illness.
However, Mudryk is understood to have 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 opportunity to respond with an explanation before a decision is made on a possible charge.
Chelsea are believed to have launched an investigation. Mail Sport understands that the investigation is believed to focus on a contaminated supplement. Mudryk is understood to have undergone a test in August which was clear and insists he has not changed his behavior since then.
There is a belief that any possible contamination may have occurred outside the country because the substance involved is not available in the UK. Mudryk is still waiting for the result of a “B” sample and whether or not it confirms the findings of his “A” sample.
The player is believed to be cooperating with his club and supporting their explanation.
Mykhailo Mudryk would have been suspended from football after being notified of a positive drug test
The Ukrainian winger has not played for Chelsea since late November, and coach Enzo Maresca attributed his absence to illness.
Chelsea shared a statement on Tuesday morning, writing: “Chelsea Football Club can confirm that the Football Association recently contacted our player Mykhailo Mudryk in relation to an adverse finding in a routine urine analysis.
“Both the Club and Mykhailo fully support the FA’s testing program and all our players, including Mykhailo, are tested regularly. Mykhailo has categorically confirmed that he has never knowingly consumed any banned substances. Both Mykhailo and the Club will work now with the relevant authorities to establish what has caused the adverse finding.
“The Club will not make any further comments.”
The player himself broke his silence shortly after the club’s statement on social media, stating that the adverse result had come as a “total shock” to him.
“I can confirm that I have been notified that a sample I provided to the FA contained a banned substance,” Mudryk posted on Instagram.
“This has come as a complete shock, as I have never knowingly used any banned substance or broken any rules, and I am working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened.
‘I know I haven’t done anything wrong and I hope to get back on the field soon. I can’t say anything more now due to the confidentiality of the process, but I will do so as soon as I can (blue heart emoji).’
Mail Sport has been in contact with a specialist sports law firm representing Mudryk since Friday and has been repeatedly told that the player has not been accused of any doping offences. They have been contacted again for comment.
Mudryk showed off her figure on Instagram in a recent climb from an elevator at her London home.
The 23-year-old has been heavily involved in Chelsea’s Europa Conference League campaign.
Mudryk has only started one Premier League game this season, although he has been a regular in the Conference League. In his last appearance, against Germans Heidenheim, he scored in a 2-0 victory.
Since then, he was an unused substitute against Aston Villa, before being left out of the matchday squad for games against Southampton, Tottenham, Brentford and last week’s Conference League trip to Kazakhstan to face Astana.
Meanwhile, Mudryk has not been seen training at Cobham.
Speaking to reporters before the 4-3 win over Spurs on December 6, Maresca said: “The other one (who will miss) who is still ill is Misha Mudryk and the rest are fine.”
On 15 December, Maresca told Chelsea’s website: “Carney (Chukwuemeka) after Astana was sick, Chilly (Ben Chilwell) was sick. Pedro (Neto) was suspended and then we had Reece (James) and Wes ( Fofana) injured and unfortunately during yesterday’s session Benoit (Badiashile) felt something and Misha (Mudryk) is also out.
The Blues head coach will speak to reporters on Wednesday ahead of the club’s Conference League clash against Shamrock Rovers on Thursday night, with Chelsea hosting an open training session on the same day at 3pm.
Mudryk was one of Europe’s hottest properties when he arrived at Stamford Bridge from Shakhtar Donetsk early last year for a fee of up to £88million, with Arsenal among those looking to have been pursuing his services.
Capped for his country, he signed an eight-year contract with his new club in what was a busy January transfer window. But of his 53 Premier League appearances, only 26 were starts, and the player never really earned a place in his manager’s first team.
Despite the lack of league action this year, Mudryk has contributed goals in every match in the league phase in Europe, scoring three goals in as many matches.