Chelsea winger Mykhaylo Mudryk faces the prospect of a four-year ban having been formally charged by the Football Association for a failed drugs test.

At the back end of 2024, it was revealed that the Ukraine international had tested positive for banned substance meldonium.

As a result, the £89m signing was provisionally suspended by the FA who were awaiting the results of the 'B' sample.

In most cases, that follows quickly, but there has been no official update on Mudryk's situation since December.

However, as first reported by The Telegraph, the 24-year-old remains at risk of being banned for a number of years.

What has the FA said?

An official spokesperson said: "We can confirm that Mykhailo Mudryk has been charged with Anti-Doping Rule Violations alleging the presence and/or use of a prohibited substance, in terms of Regulations 3 and 4 of The FA’s Anti-Doping Regulations.

"As this is an ongoing case, we are not in a position to comment further at this time”.

Chelsea are yet to officially react to the latest development, but Mudryk has always protested his innocence since the failed test - said to have been taken while on international duty in November - came to light.

What now?

Unless Mudryk can prove his innocence or show that there was no intentional use, he faces the possibility of being banned from professional football until November 2028.

He is said to be working with the same legal representative that Paul Pogba used to reduce his own drugs ban from four years to 18 months after appealing to the Court of Arbitration of Sport.

Mudryk is unable to attend Chelsea's facilities to train with the rest of the squad, and that will remain the case for the foreseeable future.

His last game for Chelsea came on November 28 when he netted in a 2-0 win at Heidenheim in the Conference League.

Written by
Darren Plant