Soccer Football - UEFA Nations League - Group B1 - Ukraine v Czech Republic - Wroclaw Stadium, Wroclaw, Poland - October 14, 2024 Ukraine's Mykhailo Mudryk before the match REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/ File Photo
(Reuters) - Chelsea trust Mykhailo Mudryk and are fully behind him after the Ukrainian winger was contacted by the Football Association over an adverse analytical finding following a routine anti-doping test, coach Enzo Maresca said on Wednesday.
Mudryk said on Tuesday that he was shocked after being contacted by the FA over an adverse analytical finding. He and Chelsea confirmed that a urine sample had produced the adverse finding.
The 23-year-old Ukraine international, who moved to the West London club in January 2023, has struggled for first-team opportunities this season and has largely been used as a substitute in the Premier League.
Mudryk said in a statement that he has "never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules".
"The club, the coaching staff and all of the people that are inside the training ground - we support and we trust Mykhailo," Maresca told reporters on the eve of Thursday's Conference League home game against Ireland's Shamrock Rovers.
"We trust Mykhailo and when these kind of things happen - you need to support your players in all aspects. It's general (support). Mykhailo is a Chelsea player, he is involved in the squad so it is also my duty to be in contact with him. Me, the club, the teammates and the player - we are all there."
Mudryk has not featured in Chelsea's last five games, with Maresca saying that was down to illness.
Mudryk, capped 28 times for Ukraine, has 10 goals and nine assists in 73 appearances across all competitions for Chelsea since joining them from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.
But Maresca said Mudryk was improving a lot in the last couple of games and Chelsea were happy with his progress.
"The talent we see on the training pitch is exactly the same as what you sometimes see during the game. With Mykhailo it is exactly the same feeling," Maresca said.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
