Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been charged by the Football Association with violating its anti-doping rules after failing a drugs test and could now face up to a four-year ban, BBC reports.
The Ukraine international, Mykhailo Mudryk, 24, was provisionally suspended by the FA in December after an “adverse finding in a routine urine test”.
Players found to have intentionally taken a prohibited substance can be banned for up to four years under the guidelines of world football’s governing body, Fifa.
At the time Mykhailo Mudryk said he was in “complete shock” and he “never knowingly used any banned substances”.
He has not played for Chelsea since 28 November and has not been included in a matchday squad since 1 December.
Mudryk cannot train with Chelsea either, and the club are supporting him and his mental wellbeing.
He attended the Blues’ Uefa Conference League final win in Poland last month in a private capacity and was not with the squad.
In a statement on Wednesday, the FA said: “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 have not commented but in December said, external they would work to establish what caused the failed test, adding: “Mykhailo has confirmed categorically that he has never knowingly used any banned substances.”
Blues manager Enzo Maresca said in December: “We support Mykhailo and trust means that we believe Mykhailo.”
Under FA rules, players have the right to request analysis of the B sample from a urine test, in the event of an adverse analytical finding in an A sample.
If the B sample analysis confirms the adverse finding, charges will be brought.
Players can either accept the finding and the applicable consequences, or request that the matter proceed to a hearing.
Chelsea signed Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 in a deal worth up to £89m, and he is under contract at the club until June 2031.
Mudryk has scored 10 goals in 73 appearances in all competitions for the Blues.