STUCK IN THE MUD
Mykhailo Mudryk banned from training with Chelsea team-mates as fresh details emerge on shock drug scandal
A tennis star tested positive for the same banned substance
MYKHAILO MUDRYK is unable to train with his Chelsea team-mates as fresh details surrounding his drug scandal emerge.
The Ukrainian has been provisionally suspended from football and faces up to a FOUR-YEAR ban after failing a doping test.
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Mudryk - who could end up costing the Blues £88.5million - provided a positive result for an A-sample in late October.
The winger and Chelsea are now awaiting the result of the B-sample, which will confirm the original test if it also comes back positive.
Mudryk is believed to have tested positive for meldonium, a banned metabolic substance similar to insulin.
It can apparently allow the body to “use oxygen sparingly and quickly restore energy to prepare for new loads of physical stress.”
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Meldonium is widely used in Eastern Europe and has been on the banned list of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) since 2016.
Tennis star Maria Sharapova was banned for 15 months after testing positive for meldonium at the Australian Open that same year.
According to journalist , Mudryk is unable to train at Cobham due to his provisional suspension.
Mudryk categorically denies intentional wrongdoing and passed a test in August and has a specialist law firm dealing with the matter.
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The positive A-test occurred on international duty and it's reported the player believes contamination caused the result.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has been kept in the loop but is not dealing with the matter day-by-day.
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Maresca referred to Mudryk as ill and it is understood the forward did return from international duty sick.
The maximum punishment he faces is a four-year ban but Paul Pogba had his reduced to 18 months and is eligible to play again in March.
Sharapova had her two-year suspension reduced to 15 months.
Mudryk has made 15 appearances this season, with three goals all scored in the Europa Conference League.
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