The Football Association has provisionally suspended Chelsea forward Mykhailo Mudryk for failing a drug test. Mudryk faces a four-year ban under FA rules. It is said in a statement that it is “a complete shock” and that he has “not done anything wrong”. Chelsea has initiated their investigation, and the 23-year-old claims he “has never knowingly used any banned substances”. Mudryk, who passed a routine drugs test in August.
According to head coach Enzo Maresca, the Ukrainian forward has been absent from the Chelsea team for the past four games due to illness. The Ukraine winger joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk for £88.5 million in January 2023. He last appeared for the club on November 28 in a 2-0 Conference League win over German side Heidenhem. Mudryk, who has three goals in 15 games this season.
Mykhailo Mudryk most recently featured as an unused substitute for Chelsea on December 1 in a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge. According to FA guidelines, a player must be advised of a positive test and provisionally suspended before a formal charge is decided. During this time, Mudryk can explain why the result occurred. As is typically the case, local media broke the story first, and international sources are only now catching up.
Drug Test Storm Hits Chelsea
Once the floodgates were released, the club was unable to contain it. In reality, Chelsea will make no further comments until the investigations are complete. According to other reports from Ukraine (via Matt Law), the chemical in question is meldonium, which was banned in 2016. If the B-sample is positive, Mudryk could face a four-year penalty. He has been placed on provisional suspension till the results are returned.
Chelsea’s 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 program and all our players, including Mykhailo, are regularly tested. Mykhailo has confirmed categorically that he has never knowingly used any banned substances.”
