Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk said he was shocked after receiving notification from the Football Association that he had tested positive for drugs.
Tuesday’s reports in Ukraine show that a banned substance was detected in an “A” sample taken in late October. The same reports indicate that the ‘B’ sample has not yet been tested, but this will be done in the coming days.
Confirmation that Mudryk has taken a banned substance could result in a long ban from football, potentially up to four years.
A source told ESPN that Mudryk has been temporarily suspended pending the outcome of the investigation, but the FA and Chelsea declined to confirm this information when contacted by ESPN.
Mudryk, 23, has missed the club’s last five matches, with head coach Enzo Maresca citing illness as the reason for his omission.
“I can confirm that I have been notified that the sample I provided to the FA contained a banned substance.” Mudryk wrote on Instagram.
“It came as a complete shock as I have never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules and I am working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened.
“I know I didn’t do anything wrong and I hope to be back on the pitch soon. “I can’t say more now due to the confidentiality of the process, but I will do so as soon as possible.”
Chelsea said in a statement: “Chelsea Football Club can confirm that the Football Association recently contacted our player Mykhailo Mudryk regarding an unfavorable result from a routine urine test.
“Both the club and Mykhailo fully support the FA testing program and all our players, including Mykhailo, are tested regularly. Mykhailo categorically confirmed that he had never knowingly taken any banned substances.
“Both Mykhailo and the club will now cooperate with the relevant authorities to establish what led to the adverse findings. The club will no longer comment on the situation.”
FA rules state that a player notified of a positive test result may be provisionally suspended by his club pending the right to reply and subsequent testing of a ‘B’ sample.
Mudryk joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 for a fee that could potentially rise to £88m. However, his time in England was mixed as he started only 26 years old First league matches and only one this season.
The Ukrainian winger was a regular in the Europa Conference League, where Maresca made wholesale changes to his regular Premier League lineup.
