Former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu has sent Mykhailo Mudryk a message of support after the Ukrainian was provisionally suspended for failing a drugs test in December last year. Mudryk tested positive for banned performance-enhancing substance meldonium, but denies knowingly breaching the rules.
A Chelsea statement read: "Chelsea Football Club can confirm the Football Association recently contacted our player Mykhailo Mudryk concerning an adverse finding in a routine urine test.
"Both the Club and Mykhailo fully support The FA’s testing programme and all our players, including Mykhailo, are regularly tested.
"Mykhailo has confirmed categorically that he has never knowingly used any banned substances. Both Mykhailo and the Club will now work with the relevant authorities to establish what has caused the adverse finding. The Club will not be commenting any further."
Enzo Maresca also commented on the situation after news broke of his suspension, he said: "Now the situation is a bit more clear, in terms of we have a statement with the club. There is not anything to add apart from the club, the staff all support and trust Misha.
"General support. We trust Misha. When this kind of thing happens, you need to support your player in all of the aspects.
"We are all upset and sad and we are there to support Misha. I spoke with him days ago. At the moment, he cannot train. We are waiting. The club is ready to support the player. We all believe that [he is innocent]."
Mudryk has not featured since, and his future at the club is unclear. The winger has made 73 appearances for the Blues since joining for an initial £62 million deal from Shakhtar Donetsk, potentially rising to £82million.
An investigation is underway into the finding, and few are better placed to understand what Mudryk is going through.
“I don’t know what sanction he is facing, but I know he continues to defend his innocence,” Mutu told The Telegraph. “The only thing I can tell him is to focus on his return, not to lose the excitement of being the player he was not so long ago.”
The Romanian is most well known for testing positive for cocaine in October 2004, during his stint at Chelsea, which saw him banned for seven months. Mutu was forced to pay back Chelsea millions for breaching his contract after a drawn proceedings with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“Taking cocaine during my time at Chelsea was the worst decision I could have made in my career," Mutu added. “I was alone and sad, but neither depression nor anything else justified my actions.
“I should have asked for help, and I didn’t. However, you learn from everything in life, and that lesson made me a better person – much more mature and self-aware. And I’m proud of that.”