Maresca yet to speak to Mudryk after anti-doping charge

Enzo Maresca, Chelsea’s manager, says he hasn’t spoken to Mykhailo Mudryk since the forward was accused of breaking anti-doping laws, but insists the player still has the support of the club.

Following an “adverse finding in a routine urine test,” Ukraine international Mudryk, 24, was proviso-suspensed by the FA in December and is now facing a potential four-year ban.

Mudryk, who previously said he was “complete shock” and had “never knowingly used any banned substances,” last played for Chelsea in November but also took part in the Blues’ private victory in Poland last month.

“I trust all the Chelsea players because Mischa is a player,” Maresca said.

Mischa and I spoke at the Conference League championship game in Poland, but we haven’t spoken since.

I don’t know how he is now because I haven’t spoken to him since that day, but when I spoke to him, he was quite good. I didn’t worry that he was worried or unhappy.

Mudryk is currently on a contract with Chelsea until June 2031, signing him from Shakhtar Donetsk in a deal worth up to £89 million.

In Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Los Angeles FC at the Club World Cup, star attacker Cole Palmer donned Mudryk’s number 10 shirt for the first time.

Palmer said he had not spoken to his team-mate yet but that he would do so when the time comes. He did this at the club’s training facility at Subaru Park, where Philadelphia Union plays for the MLS.

When Palmer, 23, inquired as to why he wanted to sport the number 10, he responded that it was an imitation of his footballing idols.

He said, “I wore number 10 all my life and I just like it.”

It’s a timeless song that brings me to Messi and Rooney.

Eden Hazard, a former Chelsea player who wore the number 10, was the subject of a private message Palmer sent to him at Manchester City’s academy, but he was unresponsive.

I have met him several times at the training ground, according to Palmer, who continues to say Hazard hasn’t yet responded to his message. He requested a shirt from one of his sons.

Maresca also stated that he will “rotate three, four, or five players per game,” with the next game being against Flamengo, a giant of Brazil.