Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been spotted in Saudi Arabia days after his doping ban as he prepares to support Oleksandr Usyk against Tyson Fury.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Mudryk banned after positive doping testSpotted in Saudi Arabia by a Chelsea fanIn Riyadh to support Usyk against FuryFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The FA confirmed on Tuesday that Chelsea's Mudryk has been placed on provisional suspension after he tested positive for the banned substance Meldonium last month. The Ukrainian winger has maintained his innocence and accepted the FA's investigation into his positive test as he submitted another sample for confirmatory tests.
AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Mudryk was spotted in Riyadh by fans as he prepares to support his countryman and WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion Usyk against Briton Tyson Fury on December 21. A Chelsea fan shared a photo of Mudryk on social media and claimed Mudryk told him 'I hope everything is gonna be fine' when he expressed his support of the winger following his suspension.
Instagram (@sirshargi)DID YOU KNOW?
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has maintained his support of Mudryk's innocence as reacted to the suspension and said: "We support and we trust Misha.
"Trust means that we believe Misha. We support Misha and then we see. We are all sad. Me, the club, the players, we are all there. We all believe that, then we see. I think he is going to come back. The only thing is that we don't know when.
"I'm there to try to help Misha in anything he needs. It's normal that he's going to need help from the club, from me, from his team-mates. We are all there to try to support him. They (Mudryk’s team-mates) were all surprised because Misha at the beginning was ill, he wasn't good, then this happened. They were all surprised and at the same time sad.
"No matter if he is 20 or 30, no matter if he is English or Italian or Ukrainian, no matter nothing. When these things happen, I need support, you need support, they need support, we all need support because something happened. It’s not about Misha, it's not about the age, it's not about the country. It's about that."
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MUDRYK?
The 23-year-old is set to miss at least Chelsea's next clash against Everton on Sunday, December 21 and potentially also their Boxing Day matchup with Fulham. Mudryk will have to wait until the 'B' sample's test comes in before he can understand what the future holds for him.
