Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca ‘trusts' Mykhailo Mudryk after doping charge

Straits Times

7 hours ago

Chelsea's Mykhailo Mudryk could face up to a suspension of four years following his positive drug test. PHOTO: REUTERS
PHILADELPHIA – Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said on June 19 that he still maintained trust in Mykhailo Mudryk, after the Ukrainian winger was charged by England's Football Association (FA) with violating anti-doping rules.
But he also confirmed that the club were looking to strengthen in his position.
'Mischa is a Chelsea player. As long as he is a Chelsea player, I will trust all the Chelsea players,' Maresca told reporters in Philadelphia ahead of his team's Club World Cup clash with Flamengo on June 20.
Mudryk has not played for Chelsea since Nov 28 following his provisional suspension by the FA for an 'adverse finding in a routine urine test' in December.
He was reported to have had the prohibited performance-enhancing substance meldonium in his positive test and could face a potential ban of up to four years under FA rules.
Mudryk, who has denied intentional wrongdoing, is not with the Chelsea squad for the tournament in the United States and Maresca said he has had no contact with the player since the Uefa Conference League final win over Real Betis in Poland late in May.
'The last time I spoke with Mischa was in Poland and he was quite good,' he said.
'Since that day I have not spoken with him so I don't know how he is now but for sure in the next days, in the next weeks, we are going to have contact with him.'
Mudryk was signed from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 for €100 million but his time at Chelsea has been dogged by inconsistency.
He has scored just 10 goals in 73 appearances in all competitions for the Blues.
Maresca revealed that he is hoping to sign a new wide attacker before the start of the Premier League season.
'We had already one entire season almost without Mischa, last season, and we tried to find different solutions with some of the academy players, like Tyrique (George), but we are going to decide to go for a winger,' the Italian said.
'It is quite clear that it is a position we need to improve.'
Meanwhile at the Club World Cup, Chelsea can expect to face challenging conditions with heat and humidity rising in Philadelphia in recent days and the match starting at 2pm local time – after press time in Singapore.
The game is likely to be key in deciding who tops Group D with both teams fresh from winning their opening match at the tournament – Chelsea got the better of Los Angeles FC in Atlanta while Flamengo defeated Esperance.
Maresca added that he has reduced the intensity and duration of training sessions to ensure his players remain competitive for the matches ahead.
'It's not easy because of the temperature,' he said.
'We're going to try to rotate players. We need to rotate three, four, or five players each game. It's impossible for players to be at 100 per cent for 11 months straight.' AFP, REUTERS
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