Mykhailo Mudryk's catastrophic doping suspension spells the beginning of the end of struggling winger's Chelsea career

Reports emerged in Ukrainian media overnight on Monday alleging Mudryk had failed a recent drugs test, and it was confirmed by The Times on Tuesday morning that the winger had been provisionally suspended by the FA as they await an explanation.

The 23-year-old provided a clear urine test in August, but a subsequent check - apparently after international duty with Ukraine in November - came back positive, and he now faces an anxious wait for the result of a 'B' sample. The Times' report claims he is citing contamination, and it's worth noting that his lawyers have insisted that he has not yet been charged with any doping offence.

Nevertheless, the failed test and subsequent suspension are crushing blows for a player who, in truth, was already fighting an uphill battle at Stamford Bridge.

Mudryk is adamant he hasn't changed his routine since the initial test in August and is said to believe the contamination must have happened abroad, because the substance in question - believed to be meldonium - is supposedly not available in the UK.

In a statement, he maintained his innocence, claiming he had "never knowingly" consumed anything illicit. "This has come as a complete shock," he wrote. "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."

It has been claimed Chelsea are supportive of their player's case, although that wasn't made abundantly obvious in the club's own statement, other than acknowledging Mudryk's insistence that he had never knowingly consumed any prohibited substance.

"Both the club and Mykhailo fully support the FA’s testing programme and all our players, including Mykhailo, are regularly tested," a statement read. "Mykhailo has confirmed categorically that he has never knowingly used any banned substances.

"Both Mykhailo and the club will now work with the relevant authorities to establish what has caused the adverse finding. The club will not be commenting any further."

This news comes amid public claims that Mudryk has been "ill" in recent weeks, with head coach Enzo Maresca forced to field questions over his absence.

The attacker has not played a single minute since the Conference League victory over Heidenheim on November 28, sitting out Chelsea's last five Premier League games.

He was on the bench in two of those, but was left out of the squad entirely for the most recent three against Southampton, Tottenham and Brentford, and was not seen in training, either.

However, discussing the state of his squad following the victory over the Bees on Sunday, Maresca interestingly didn't actually give a reason for Mudryk's non-involvement. "Unfortunately during the session yesterday, Benoit [Badiashile] felt something, and Misha (Mudryk) is out too," he said.

According to reports from Ukraine and The Athletic, the substance found in Mudryk's sample was meldonium, which is normally used to treat heart conditions but can boost endurance and recovery for athletes.

Ex-tennis champion Maria Sharapova was banned for two years after testing positive for the same substance in 2016 - the same year it was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) banned list - before her punishment was reduced on appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Meldonium is only prescribed in parts of eastern Europe, which would correspond with Mudryk testing positive after international duty and believing the alleged 'contamination' happened abroad.

A huge problem Mudryk has is that, barring an unlikely scenario where he returns a negative 'B' sample, he is certain to face a ban - even if he continues to plead his innocence.

The FA's anti-doping rules state that intent to consume a banned substance does not affect culpability, and claiming to have taken one unknowingly is not a defence that will stand up in court.

Essentially, a player will be found guilty of a doping breach if that substance is found in their body, regardless of how it got there.

Mudryk could face a four-year ban in the worst-case scenario, which is the standard length under the WADA Code. He will hope there are sufficient mitigating factors for it to be significantly shorter.

Of course, Paul Pogba is the most prominent recent reference point for a doping ban in football. In September 2023, during his time at Juventus, it was revealed that the Frenchman had tested positive for DHEA - a prohibited hormone which can naturally boost levels of testosterone - and, like Mudryk, he was was provisionally suspended with immediate effect.

In an echo of Mudryk's initial defence, Pogba's agent Rafaela Pimenta said at the time: "The only certain thing is that Paul Pogba never intended to break the rules." However, more than five months later, he was hit with a devastating four-year ban by the Italian anti-doping authorities.

That has since been reduced to 18 months following an appeal to CAS, who accepted that the midfielder had taken DHEA unintentionally in a supplement prescribed to him by a doctor in the US, but still deemed he was "not without fault" due to his carelessness in that situation as a professional sportsman.

It is a case that may well set the precedent for Mudryk and gives an idea of the ultimate punishment coming his way, and he could face months on the sidelines before an initial verdict is even made.

It will be interesting to see how long Chelsea maintain their supposedly 'supportive' stance, because this is hardly a player who is intrinsic to their plans.

We are approaching two years since Mudryk signed for the Blues for a cool £89 million ($109m) as a highly-rated young winger who had torn it up in the Champions League for Shakhtar Donetsk, but he has inevitably failed to live up to that price tag and what seemed to be considerable potential at Stamford Bridge.

The 23-year-old has just 19 goal involvements to his name in 73 appearances (just 40 starts) for the club, struggling with form and confidence in what has been a very unstable period - reflected in the fact he has already had four different managers in west London.

Although there were shoots of recovery under Maresca, he was still a bit-part player; a flurry of attacking arrivals in the summer, including Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho, had pushed Mudryk down the pecking order. He has started just once in the Premier League this season, with the vast majority of his outings coming in the Conference League.

As such, it would be no surprise if this untimely situation spelled the end of Mudryk's time with his current employers, just as transpired to be the case for Pogba when his Juve contract was terminated.

Given their attacking riches and the wide man's well-documented struggles, it's very much perceivable that the club were already considering cutting their losses on the significant investment they made in 2023.

Even if he only serves a minimal ban of a few months, Chelsea will welcome even more competition in the wide areas in the summer when wonderkid Estevao Willian arrives from Palmeiras, and any further spending in the transfer window could render Mudryk a figment of Chelsea fans' memories.

One thing that will hopefully work in the attacker's favour is his age; the Ukrainian is still only 23, and whatever the outcome of his doping case, he has time on his side to be able to rebuild his career. That almost certainly won't be at Stamford Bridge, though.