Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has expressed his continued trust in winger Mykhailo Mudryk, despite the Ukrainian international facing a doping charge from the English Football Association (FA).
Speaking to reporters in Philadelphia ahead of Chelsea’s Club World Cup clash with Flamengo on Friday, Maresca said, “Mischa is a Chelsea player. As long as he is, I will trust all the Chelsea players.”
Mudryk has been out of action since November 28, after the FA provisionally suspended him due to an “adverse finding” during a routine urine test in December. If found guilty, he could face a ban of up to four years.
The 23-year-old is not part of Chelsea’s squad for the tournament in the United States. Maresca confirmed he last spoke to Mudryk after Chelsea’s UEFA Conference League final win in Poland last month. “He was fine the last time we spoke,” Maresca added. “Since then, I haven’t had contact, but we’ll reach out to him soon.”
Signed from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 for €100 million, Mudryk has struggled with consistency, scoring only 10 goals in 73 games for the Blues.
Looking for Reinforcements
Maresca also revealed that Chelsea are looking to sign a new winger before the new Premier League season kicks off. “We almost went the whole of last season without Mischa, and we had to find solutions with academy players like Tyrique George,” he said. “So now we are planning to bring in someone new — not just because of Mischa.”
Flamengo Game Could Be Tough
Chelsea are set to face Brazilian champions Flamengo on Friday at 2:00 pm local time in Philadelphia, where heat and humidity could affect performance.
Maresca noted the weather might give Flamengo an edge. “Brazilian teams are used to playing in this kind of heat,” he said. “We’ll rotate the squad and give chances to players like Enzo Fernandez, Malo Gusto, and Liam Delap.”
Both Chelsea and Flamengo are level on points in Group D after opening wins — Chelsea beat LAFC, and Flamengo defeated Esperance.
“Flamengo are a quality team with good organisation and talented players,” Maresca said. “We’ll need to be at our best to get a result.”
