The BBC reported on Wednesday that Chelsea's Ukraine international winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been formally charged by the English Football Association for violating anti-doping regulations.

According to reports, the English Football Association alleges that Mudryk, who has been banned since December last year for a positive drug test, has been formally prosecuted for violating the authorities' E3 and E4 anti-doping regulations. Since the case has entered the judicial process, the FA will no longer respond to the matter.

According to the FA's E3 and E4 regulations, violators of the regulations may face a ban of up to 4 years, and the scope of this ban will also cover domestic and international competitions. At the same time, during the ban, violators will also be prohibited from participating in any football activities including training sessions, which means that Mudryk is likely to have to wait until 2029 to return, but his value will definitely plummet by then.

It is worth mentioning that Mudryk's contract with Chelsea will run until 2031. If he is banned for 4 years, it will mean that half of his time with the Blues will be wasted due to being banned.

In Chelsea's latest promotional poster, Mudryk's No. 10 jersey has been transferred to Cole Palmer.

Mudryk last appeared in the squad list on November 28, 2024, and he has been banned since then.

Despite the ban, Chelsea said in December that the club and the player himself actively cooperated with the English Football Association's investigation and testing process, and insisted that Mudryk never deliberately used any banned substances.

The player himself has repeatedly stressed that he was shocked by the accusation and has entrusted the legal team of former Juventus and Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba to help him shorten the ban as much as possible.

Mudryk's last public appearance was during this year's UEFA Conference League final. At that time, in order to support his teammates, he deliberately used his own resources to fly to the stadium to watch the game separately, and was a little low-key to avoid suspicion.

The English Football Association announced on December 18, 2024 that the authorities collected two urine samples from Mudryk in the latest drug test, and the banned substances were detected in his urine sample A.

Subsquently, Chelsea and Mudryk himself issued a statement to confirm the matter.

About Mykhailo Mudryk

The 24-year-old Mudryk was born on January 5, 2001 in Berestyn, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. He is 1.75 meters tall and primarily plays as a left winger. He can also play as a right winger.

Mudryk played for the Metalist Kharkiv and and Dniproyouth academies when he was a child. In 2014, he joined the Shakhtar Donetsk youth academy and completed his Shakhtar Donetsk first-team debut bu coming on as a substitute in a Ukrainian Cup match at the end of October 2018.

From February of the following year to December 2020, Mudryk was loaned-out to Arsenal Kyiv and Desna Chernihiv.

In January 2021, after returning to the club following the end of his loan spell, Mudrick began to establish himself as a key player in Shakhtar Donetsk's first-team, and a few months later, he began to attract attention for his outstanding performances in the UEFA Nations League for the Ukrainian national team.

Later, his world-class performance in the Champions League for Shakhtar Donetsk was compared by many people with the legendary stars of the past in football, and even attracted Arsenal's fierce pursuit.

In mid-January 2023, Mudryk suddenly joined Chelsea for a total transfer fee of £105 million.

Since becoming a member of the Blues, Mudryk has played 73 times for the Premier League giants in all competitions, scoring 10 goals, assisting 9 times, and has reached the Carabao Cup final once with the club.