It looks increasingly likely that Mykhailo Mudryk's Chelsea career peaked during a bright but ultimately indecisive debut in a goalless draw with Liverpool back in January 2023.
The erratic forward has only scored ten goals for the Blues over the subsequent two years - just five in the Premier League - and has now been accused of failing a drugs test.
Mudryk insists that the news came as a "complete shock" and has staunchly protested his innocence. Here's everything you need to know about the latest twist in the 23-year-old's underwhelming Chelsea career.
Mykhaylo Mudryk
Mykhailo Mudryk has mainly been used in the Europa Conference League this season / Daniel Kopatsch/GettyImages
Mudryk has sat out Chelsea's previous five fixtures, last appearing for the west London outfit in a 2-0 Europa Conference League victory over Heidenheim. Enzo Maresca has repeatedly explained away the Ukrainian's absence with the excuse of "illness", but The Times report that Mudryk has been unavailable for selection after this positive test.
A specialist sports law firm acting for Mudryk has strongly insisted that its client has "not been charged with any form of doping offence".
However, Chelsea confirmed that the FA had discovered an "adverse finding in a routine urine test".
Mail Sport report that the positive sample relates to a contaminated supplement. While not confirmed by the player or club, the Ukrainian outlet which first broke the news of the failed doping test, Tribuna, named the banned substance as mildronate.
Mildronate, which is the brand name for meldonium, has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) since 2016. Most regularly used to treat heart conditions, and included in the same bracket as insulin, it was discovered to enhance athletic performance by increasing the capacity of the body to carry oxygen.
Soviet shoulders took the drug while hiking through the thin air of Afghanistan's mountains between 1979 and 1989. Former Russian tennis professional Maria Sharapova infamously tested positive for meldonium in March 2016 and was handed a provisional suspension.
Any potential contamination is expected to have occurred outside the UK as the substance is not available in this country.
Mykhaylo Mudryk
Mykhailo Mudryk could be banned for years / Mike Hewitt/GettyImages
The maximum punishment Mudryk could face would be a four-year ban.
This severe punishment can only be implemented in two scenarios, as outlined in the FIFA statutes. Firstly, if the player took a prohibited substance and cannot prove that they did so by accident. Or, the player took what is classified as a "specified substance" - something that is banned but may have a credible, non-doping explanation - and FIFA can prove that they did so intentionally.
If neither of those scenarios are fulfilled - for instance, the player can prove that they accidentally took a prohibited substance - the ban could be reduced to two years.
It has been reported that Mudryk passed a drugs test in August and insists that he hasn't changed anything before the positive result in October.
In the event that Mudryk is slapped with a four-year ban in the new year, he will still have two-and-a-half years left on his Chelsea contract, which doesn't expire until 2031.
Club statement: Mykhailo Mudryk.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 17, 2024
It's a waiting game for Mudryk at the moment. Under FA laws, the forward has been provisionally suspended after being notified of his positive test before trying to provide an explanation.
During each drugs test, a player has their urine or blood split into two parts; A and B. Mudryk's positive result came from his 'A' sample. Now, the 23-year-old is waiting for the results from his 'B' sample which will be revealed in due course.
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