Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been charged by the Football Association for failing a doping test with the Ukrainian now facing up to a four-year ban.
The 24-year-old, who was signed from Shakhtar Donetsk for £89million in 2023, has been temporarily suspended since news broke last year that he had provided a positive sample believed to contain the performance-enhancing drug meldonium.
The FA have now confirmed that they have slapped Mudryk with a charge, saying in a statement: ‘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.’
Chelsea declined to comment.
Mudryk hired Morgan Sports Law to act as his representatives in a bid to save his career, with the Ukraine international maintaining he has never knowingly broken any rules.
In a statement uploaded on his Instagram in December last year, Mudryk said: ‘I can confirm that I have been notified that a sample I provided to The FA contained a banned substance.
Mykhailo Mudryk has been banned by the FA after returning a failed drugs test last year
The player has been sidelined at Chelsea but travelled to Wroclaw to watch the UEFA Conference League final
The 24-year-old signed for the Blues in January 2023 but has struggled to assert his place in the first team under a string of managers
‘This has come as a complete shock as I have never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules, and am working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened.
‘I know that I have not done anything wrong and remain hopeful that I will be back on the pitch soon. I cannot say any more now due to the confidentiality of the process, but I will as soon as I can.’
