Mykhailo Mudryk
Mykhailo Mudryk has made just one Premier League start this season
Mykhailo Mudryk was hooked at half-time in his only Premier League start this season.
So his provisional suspension for a failed drug test may not immediately appear a devastating blow for Enzo Maresca’s title challengers.
But news that the Ukraine international, 23, faces a potential four-year ban will still dampen the mood at Stamford Bridge just as fans were beginning to believe their club is a bonafide contender again.
Mudryk is waiting for the results of his B sample following an “adverse finding” in a routine urine test. He denies ever “knowingly” taking a banned supplement and said he was in “complete shock” over the positive test.
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Should it be proven he ingested a banned substance – widely reported as being the blood flow medication meldonium – he could be banned until just before his 28th birthday, though it may take months for a resolution with scope to appeal.
Maresca, who initially claimed Mudryk was absent owing to an illness, will speak at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon before Thursday's Conference League tie against Shamrock Rovers.
And he is likely to face some awkward questions around what else the club knows beyond a brief statement in which they said they “will now work with the relevant authorities to establish what has caused the adverse finding.”
Regardless, this is a new low for Mudryk in a two-year spell that started badly and has continuously gotten worse.
He arrived in January 2023 from Shakhtar Donetsk for an exorbitant £89m fee that both raised eyebrows across the sport and piled the pressure on a young player whose experience amounted to a couple of dozen starts in the Ukraine top flight and brief flashes in the Champions League group stage.
Mykhailo Mudryk could end up being banned for four years.
Mykhailo Mudryk could end up being banned for four years.
(
Image:
Catherine Ivill)
Arsenal were among those showing an interest at the time but their valuation was less than half of what Chelsea ended up paying and at the Emirates there was bemusement when the eventual fee became known.
Mudryk struggled to get used to the Premier League ’s intensity during his first six months in West London during a period when his new club was in a mess.
Graham Potter, sacked a few weeks later, felt he was not physically ready while Frank Lampard felt that there was talent but a lack of understanding around exactly what he wanted.
Under Mauricio Pochettino there were more appearances, including 18 starts in the league last season, but little end product with just five goals.
And the Argentine coach inadvertently outlined just how bad things were when he said that he was looking to boost Mudryk’s confidence by facing him in crossbar challenges after training.
The problem was that it turned out Pochettino kept accidentally beating him.
Enzo Maresca's team are impressing but Mudryk has hardly featured in the league.
(
Image:
Getty Images)
Maresca, meanwhile, questioned Mudryk’s ability to take tactical instructions on board and appeared to decide after 45 minutes away to Wolves in August that he would not be high up his pecking order.
Since then there have been six cameos in the league and four starts in Europe’s third competition, where he has at least scored three against low quality opposition.
In October Mudryk was asked how far away Mudryk was from making an impact in meaningful games. “When? I don’t know,” he said. “The only thing I can say is we try to work with Misha every day. Hopefully he can get better.”
His absence, then, will not be a grave blow to their hopes of a sustained title challenge.
But it may trouble the hierarchy more since Mudryk is under contract until the summer of 2031.
He has been earning close to £100,000-per-week while sitting on the sidelines.
Yet if the owners’ daring approach to recruitment has been to sign the best young talent to long-term deals that ensures if they leave it’s for a big fee, this one is at risk of being an £89m write off.
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