THE drug Chelsea's Mykhailo Mudryk is alleged to have taken is the same one that saw Maria Sharapova slapped with a lengthy ban from tennis.
Mudryk, 23, has been provisionally suspended from football after failing a drugs test.
Mykhailo Mudryk has been failed a drugs test
Mykhailo Mudryk has been failed a drugs testCredit: Getty
The Chelsea star is alleged to have taken the same drug that saw Maria Sharapova banned in 2016
The Chelsea star is alleged to have taken the same drug that saw Maria Sharapova banned in 2016Credit: AFP
The winger returned a positive result for an A-sample in late October and now awaits the answer from a decisive B-sample.
Reports in his homeland of Ukraine say meldonium has been found in Mudryk's system.
The performance-enhancing drug makes the body “use oxygen sparingly and restore energy quickly".
It has been described as a "metabolic modulator" that "modifies how some hormones accelerate or slow down to different enzymatic reactions in the body".
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
Meldonium was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2016.
Tennis legend Sharapova was initially banned for two years after testing positive for it soon after it was added to the prohibited list.
An an appeal saw her suspension reduced to 15 months.
Sharapova revealed she had been taking meldonium for ten years due to health issues and did not realise it became a banned substance.
Most read in Football
In another high-profile case, Russian boxer Alexander Povetkin also tested positive in 2016 and it led to his bout against Deontay Wilder being called off.
He was later cleared following a second test.
Chelsea player ratings vs Brentford
In recent years, four-year bans for it have been dished out to wrestler Tamerlan Tagziev, Olympic curling bronze medallist Alexander Krushelnitskiy, canoeing star Oleksandr Senkevych and gaelic football ace Ray Walker.
Kazakh footballer Aybol Abiken was banned for three years in 2022 after he took meldonium.
Mudryk insists he is innocent, writing on Instagram: "This has come as a complete shock as I have NEVER knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules.
"I am working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened.
“I know that I have not done anything wrong and remain hopeful that I will be back on the pitch soon.
“I cannot say any more now due to the confidentiality of the process, but I will as soon as I can.”
Maria Sharapova claims she took the drug for years due to health issues and did not realise it became banned
Maria Sharapova claims she took the drug for years due to health issues and did not realise it became bannedCredit: Splash