Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been officially charged by the Football Association (FA) for doping offences and now faces a potential four-year suspension from football.
The 24-year-old tested positive for a banned substance, believed to be meldonium, during a routine drug test last year.
Mudryk was provisionally suspended while he and Chelsea awaited the results of a second test – the so-called ‘B’ sample.
With that now complete, the FA has confirmed charges under regulations three and four of its anti-doping code.
An FA spokesperson told Telegraph Sport: “We can confirm that Mykhailo Mudryk has been charged with anti-doping rule violations alleging the presence and/or use of a prohibited substance, in terms of regulations 3 and 4 of the FA’s anti-doping regulations.
“As this is an ongoing case, we are not in a position to comment further at this time.”
Mudryk joined Chelsea in January 2023 in a deal worth an initial £60 million, with performance-related add-ons potentially taking the total figure north of £88m.
However, the Ukrainian international has not featured for Chelsea since he scored in the 2-0 Europa Conference League win against Heidenheim back in November.
His suspension also prohibits him from training at Cobham or joining his teammates.
Mydryk has maintained his innocence since the whole saga started. He insists he never knowingly consumed a banned substance.
The former Shakhtar Donetsk ace has enlisted the services of Morgan Sports Law to fight the charges.
The firm is experienced in these high-profile doping cases and were responsible for reducing Paul Pogba’s proposed four-year ban to 18 months.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have backed Mudryk throughout the process.
Mudryk is still hoping to return to football at the earliest opportunity. He travelled alone to watch Chelsea’s Conference League final against Real Betis in Poland.
However, there are signs that Chelsea have started planning for life beyond the Ukrainian.
His number 10 shirt has been handed to Cole Palmer while the club are on the market for a new left-footed right winger, with Jamie Gittens and Malick Fofana on their wishlist.