He arrived in January 2023 from Shakhtar Donetsk for an exorbitant £89m fee that both raised eyebrows across the sport and piled the pressure on a young player whose experience amounted to a couple of dozen starts in the Ukraine top flight and brief flashes in the Champions League group stage.
Mykhailo Mudryk suspension underlines problem with Chelsea owners' risk Mykhailo Mudryk was hooked at half-time in his only Premier League start this season.
Maresca, who initially claimed Mudryk was absent owing to an illness, will speak at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon before Thursday's Conference League tie against Shamrock Rovers.
Should it be proven he ingested a banned substance – widely reported as being the blood flow medication meldonium – he could be banned until just before his 28th birthday, though it may take months for a resolution with scope to appeal.
And he is likely to face some awkward questions around what else the club knows beyond a brief statement in which they said they “will now work with the relevant authorities to establish what has caused the adverse finding.”.
