The Blues winger has missed his club's last five matches since late November
The club's head coach Enzo Maresca has put his absence down to illness
LISTEN NOW: It's All Kicking Off! Mason Mount? Marcus Rashford? Joshua Zirkzee? Who should Manchester United sell to raise funds?
By MIKE KEEGAN and SAMI MOKBEL and KIERAN GILL
Published: 04:58 EST, 17 December 2024 | Updated: 05:12 EST, 17 December 2024
Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been provisionally suspended from football after being notified of a positive drugs test by the Football Association.
The 23-year-old has missed the club's last five matches and has not featured since a Europa Conference League match on November 28. Manager Enzo Maresca has put the Ukrainian's absence down to illness.
However, it is understood that Mudryk has been unavailable for selection due to a suspected adverse analytical finding. FA rules state that a player notified of a test result can then be provisionally suspended. They then have the chance to respond with an explanation before a decision is made on a potential charge.
Chelsea are thought to have launched an investigation. Mail Sport understands the probe is thought to centre around a contaminated supplement. Mudryk is known to have undergone a test in August which was clear and insists he had not changed his behaviour since.
There is a belief that any potential contamination may have happened outside the country because the substance involved is not available in UK. Mudryk is still waiting on the result of a ‘B’ sample and whether or not it confirms the findings of his ‘A’ sample.
The player is thought to be co-operating with his club supportive of his explanation.
Mykhailo Mudryk is understood to have been suspended from football after being notified of a positive drugs test
Mudryk is pictured with Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca
Mudryk greets fans before the Aston Villa game
Mail Sport has been in contact with a specialist sports law firm acting for Mudryk since Friday and has been repeatedly told that the player has not been charged with a doping offence. They have again been contacted for comment.
Mudryk has started only one Premier League match this season, although he has been a regular in the Conference League. During his last appearance, at 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.
Mudryk has not been seen training at Cobham in the interim.
Talking to reporters before the 4-3 win over Spurs on December 6, Maresca said: 'The other one [to miss out] is still ill is Misha Mudryk and the rest are okay.'
On December 15, Maresca told Chelsea’s website: ‘Carney (Chukwuemeka) after Astana was ill, Chilly (Ben Chilwell) was ill. Pedro (Neto) was suspended and then we had Reece (James) and Wes (Fofana) injured, and unfortunately during the session yesterday, Benoit (Badiashile) felt something, and Misha (Mudryk) is out too.’
The Blues head coach will next speak to reporters on Wednesday ahead of the club's Conference League clash with Shamrock Rovers on Thursday evening, with Chelsea hosting an open training on the same day at 3pm.
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
Mudryk was one of Europe's hottest properties when he arrived at Stamford Bridge from Shakhtar Donetsk early last year for a fee worth up to £88m, with Arsenal among those sought to have been in the hunt for his services.
Capped by his country, he penned an eight-year deal with his new club in what was a busy January transfer window. But of his 53 Premier League appearances, only 26 have come as a starter, with the player never truly nailing down a place in his manager's first team.
Despite a lack of league action this year, Mudryk has recorded a goal contribution in every league phase match in Europe, where he has scored three goals in as many games.
ChelseaMykhailo Mudryk