The Football Association of England has accused Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk with breaking anti-doping rules after he failed a drug test. Since November 28, Mudryk has not played for Chelsea. The FA suspended him temporarily in December because of a “adverse finding in a routine urine test.” The player from Ukraine at the time said he was “completely shocked” and that he “never knowingly used any banned substances.”
But according to FA rules, Mudryk may be banned for up to four years. The FA said on Wednesday that Mykhailo Mudryk, 24, has been charged with breaking anti-doping rules by having and/or using a banned substance. This is in line with rules three and four of the FA’s anti-doping regulations.
“We can’t say anything else right now because this is still an open case.”
Mudryk signed with Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023. Reports say that his positive test showed that he had meldonium, a banned performance-enhancing drug. Chelsea started their own inquiry into the doping claim last year and were waiting for the findings of the “B” sample test to either back up or refute the first “A” results.
Cole Palmer was assigned Mudryk’s number 10 shirt for next season, which means that the Ukrainian international doesn’t have a squad number at Stamford Bridge. He got the positive test back not long after he had been overseas with Ukraine for international duty in November.
When asked about the four games he missed before the suspension was made public, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca first replied that the winger was sick. Mudryk was last on the Chelsea bench for their 3-0 Premier League win against Aston Villa on December 1, but he didn’t play.
During his tenure at Chelsea, he has been inconsistent, with performances that aren’t always great but sometimes show flashes of his talent. Mudryk has only scored 10 goals in 73 games with the Blues in all competitions. He only started one game in the Premier League last season, a win over Wolves in August.
