Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk in action during the Premier League match against Newcastle
Chelsea have given Mykhailo Mudryk time to “disconnect” from the controversy over his failed drugs test, after the winger was spotted at last weekend’s heavyweight boxing clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
Mudryk has been provisionally suspended from football after testing positive for a banned substance earlier this season following an “adverse finding in a routine urine test”.
The 23-year-old insists he has never knowingly taken any banned substance, vowed to prove his innocence and has the full support of manager Enzo Maresca and the club, but is now awaiting the test results of a ‘B’ sample. Should the adverse finding be confirmed, he could be hit with a lengthy ban.
The Ukraine international has missed Chelsea’s last eight matches across all competitions but last weekend made the trip to Saudi Arabia to watch countryman Usyk’s second points victory over Fury.
“In this moment, it’s also good he can disconnect a little bit from the situation,” Blues boss Maresca said. “The last time I spoke with him, we tried to support him. Now we are just waiting.”
Mudryk will again be absent when Chelsea host Fulham in a west London derby on Boxing Day and with Premier League leaders Liverpool not in action until later the same night, they have the chance to close the gap at the top to a single point.
Maresca is refusing to stray from his view that his young team are not realistic title contenders, but did concede that their lofty position in the table now represents more than just a strong start to the campaign.
“I think for sure, it is also the reality says that we are second,” he said. “We’re not second after four or five games when still the table is probably not the ‘real’ one. When it’s almost halfway [through the season], 17 games, probably the table reflects where the teams are.
“But Liverpool are doing fantastic since the first day. The squad is a squad that has already lived that kind of moment, to win a trophy, which is important.”