Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca says he and the club have full confidence in Mykhailo Mudryk after he was found to have breached doping regulations.
The 23-year-old returned a failed drugs test – carried out regularly by the FA – and was suspended by the club.
An investigation will be carried out to find out the cause of Mudryk’s negative result.
The player himself states that he has never knowingly taken performance-enhancing drugs.
On this topic, Maresca said: “We trust Mykhailo and we support Mykhailo and trust means that we believe Mykhailo, we trust Mykhailo and we support him.”
“What Mykhailo said and what we said is that we trust him and support him.
🚨🔵 Maresca: “We all support Misha Mudryk”.
“The situation is a little clearer. We have a statement from the club who have already said what we have to say.”
“So there is nothing to add. All the players on the training ground support and trust Mischa.” pic.twitter.com/mCj36I0r81
– Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 18, 2024
“First of all, these things happen not only to young players, but also to players with experience.
“Since we started, it has been my duty to build a close relationship with the players because I like it that way.
“It’s exactly the same with Mudryk and I’m here to help him with whatever he needs. At the moment it is normal that he needs help from the club, from me and his teammates, and we are all there and trying to support him.”
An innocent man
Mudryk hasn’t featured much in the Premier League this season, but has featured in cup competitions.
He would likely have started in Chelsea’s Europa Conference League game against Shamrock Rovers on Thursday.
Asked if he believed Mudryk was innocent, he added: “We all believe that, then we’ll see.”
“I think he will come back. We just don’t know when, that’s the only doubt we have at the moment. He will definitely come back.
“It’s not about Mykhailo, it’s about every player in the world who, when something like this happens, needs support.
“We support and trust Mischa (Mudryk)”
Enzo Maresca on the suspension of Mykhailo Mudryk after a negative result in a routine urine test. pic.twitter.com/KtMfA8CA2s
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 18, 2024
“It doesn’t matter if they’re 20 or 30 or English, Italian or Ukrainian – when something like this happens, I need support, you need support, they need support – we all need support.”
“It’s not about Mykhailo, his age or his country. When something like this happens, we all need support.
“He has improved a lot, especially in the last game. He has begun to understand the position in which he must remain.
“At the beginning it was because of his ability that he could move and run a lot, but in the last two or three games he has improved a lot and we were very happy with him. In terms of where he can be in one, two or three years. I don’t know.
“The talent we see on the training pitch is exactly the same as what you sometimes see during the game. It’s exactly the same feeling with Mykhailo. It’s exactly the same in training as it is in the game.”
