Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been provisionally suspended from football after being notified of a positive drugs test by the Football Association.
The 23-year-old has missed the club's last five matches and has not featured since a Europa Conference League match on November 28. Manager Enzo Maresca has put the Ukrainian's absence down to illness.
However, it is understood that Mudryk has been unavailable for selection due to a suspected adverse analytical finding. FA rules state that a player notified of a test result can then be provisionally suspended. They then have the chance to respond with an explanation before a decision is made on a potential charge.
Chelsea are thought to have launched an investigation. Mail Sport understands the probe is thought to centre around a contaminated supplement. Mudryk is known to have undergone a test in August which was clear and insists he had not changed his behaviour since.
There is a belief that any potential contamination may have happened outside the country because the substance involved is not available in UK. Mudryk is still waiting on the result of a ‘B’ sample and whether or not it confirms the findings of his ‘A’ sample.
The player is thought to be co-operating with his club supportive of his explanation.
Chelsea shared a statement on Tuesday morning, writing: '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.
'The Club will not be commenting any further.'
The player himself broke his silence shortly after the club's statement on social media, stating that the adverse finding had come as a 'complete shock'.
'I can confirm that I have been notified that a sample I provided to The FA contained a banned substance,' Mudryk posted on Instagram.
'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 (blue heart emoji)'.
Mail Sport has been in contact with a specialist sports law firm acting for Mudryk since Friday and has been repeatedly told that the player has not been charged with a doping offence. They have again been contacted for comment.
Mudryk has started only one Premier League match this season, although he has been a regular in the Conference League. During his last appearance, at Germans Heidenheim, he scored in a 2-0 victory.
Since then, he was an unused substitute against Aston Villa, before being left out of the matchday squad for games against Southampton, Tottenham, Brentford and last week's Conference League trip to Kazakhstan to face Astana.
Mudryk has not been seen training at Cobham in the interim.
Talking to reporters before the 4-3 win over Spurs on December 6, Maresca said: 'The other one [to miss out] is still ill is Misha Mudryk and the rest are okay.'
On December 15, Maresca told Chelsea’s website: ‘Carney (Chukwuemeka) after Astana was ill, Chilly (Ben Chilwell) was ill. Pedro (Neto) was suspended and then we had Reece (James) and Wes (Fofana) injured, and unfortunately during the session yesterday, Benoit (Badiashile) felt something, and Misha (Mudryk) is out too.’
The Blues head coach will next speak to reporters on Wednesday ahead of the club's Conference League clash with Shamrock Rovers on Thursday evening, with Chelsea hosting an open training on the same day at 3pm.
Mudryk was one of Europe's hottest properties when he arrived at Stamford Bridge from Shakhtar Donetsk early last year for a fee worth up to £88m, with Arsenal among those sought to have been in the hunt for his services.
Capped by his country, he penned an eight-year deal with his new club in what was a busy January transfer window. But of his 53 Premier League appearances, only 26 have come as a starter, with the player never truly nailing down a place in his manager's first team.
Despite a lack of league action this year, Mudryk has recorded a goal contribution in every league phase match in Europe, where he has scored three goals in as many games.
