Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has expressed the club’s belief that Mykhailo Mudryk did not knowingly take a banned substance, which led to him failing a drugs test.
The Ukraine international has been provisionally suspended by the Football Association (FA) following an “adverse finding” from a routine urine test provided by Mudryk.
The 23-year-old, who is currently unable to play or train with the team during his suspension, denies any intentional use of a banned substance.
Maresca remains hopeful that the winger will soon be cleared of any wrongdoing.
“We support Mykhailo and trust means that we believe Mykhailo,” said Maresca.
“The club, the coaching staff and all of the people that are inside the training ground – we support and we trust Mykhailo.
“I think he is going to come back but we don’t know when. But for sure he is going to come back.”
Maresca has spoken to Mudryk since the suspension was made public, while the Professional Footballers’ Association is expected to contact the winger to offer its support.
“Any kind of player that this kind of things happens to, they need support, you would need support and I would need support,” said Maresca.
“It is not about his age or the country that he comes from.”
Mudryk, who joined Chelsea from Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk in a deal worth up to £89 million in 2023, has scored 10 goals in 73 appearances for the club.
He has been absent from the last five matches across all competitions, with Maresca publicly stating that Mudryk’s absence was due to illness.
Under FIFA guidelines, players who are found to have deliberately used a banned substance can face a suspension of up to four years.