A player who worked with Mykhaylo Mudryk said the Ukrainian was always found in the gym as he looked to turn around his Chelsea form.
Mudryk joined Chelsea in an £89 million deal from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 but has endured a frustrating spell at Stamford Bridge so far.
Brought in under Graham Potter, the winger struggled to make an imprint under Mauricio Pochettino as well and has started just one game in the Premier League since the arrival of Enzo Maresca.
And the 23-year-old’s time in west London hit a new low on Tuesday morning after he was provisionally suspended following a failed doping test.
A banned substance was discovered in Mudryk’s ‘A’ sample from a doping test carried out in October. A request for the ‘B’ sample to be analysed has now been made to verify the adverse finding.
The news undoubtedly plunges Mudryk’s Chelsea future into further doubt, with those closest to the winger saying he often resorted to extra gym work as he looked to revive his fortunes in England.
‘He felt the pressure of the transfer, 100 per cent,’ one player who has worked with Mudryk told the Daily Mail.
‘He was a good trainer, he’d always do extras in the gym. But the criticism, especially from fans, was hard to take for him.’
Following the news, Mudryk released a statement on Instagram denying he had taken a banned substance intentionally.
‘I can confirm that I have been notified that a sample I provided to The FA contained a banned substance,’ the post read.
‘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.’
Under the World Anti-Doping Code (WADA), players who fail a drugs test can be banned from football for up to four years.
Paul Pogba, who tested positive for the banned substance dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) last August, was initially given a four-year suspension before it was reduced to 18 months following a successful appeal to the court of arbitration for sport.
A statement from Chelsea on Tuesday morning read: ‘Chelsea Football Club can confirm the Football Association recently contacted our player Mykhailo Mudryk concerning an adverse finding in a routine urine test.
‘Both the club and Mykhailo fully support The FA’s testing programme and all our players, including Mykhailo, are regularly tested.
‘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.’
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