Legendary Dynamo Kyiv footballer Alexey Mikhailichenko expressed hope that Chelsea winger Mikhail Mudrik will avoid a long disqualification for using meldonium. The former coach of the “white-blues” and the Ukrainian national team noted that he does not understand why athletes take prohibited substances at all.

Mikhailichenko stated this in an interview with the Dynamovets Telegram channel.. According to the Cup Winners' Cup winner with Dynamo and the Italian champion with Sampdoria, if Mudrik is suspended from football for four years, it will be a real horror for the 24-year-old athlete.

“I honestly can’t say much, I don’t understand why this is, let’s hope it’s some kind of mistake. During my entire career I did not use anything, I refused to even take legal recovery pills. I don’t really understand how they could have added this. Or other theories. But I think that four years for him will be terrible. His trump card is speed, this is a thing that does not improve over the years, so we will believe that everything will be fine.

Four years – it will be very difficult mentally,” Mikhailichenko said.

Let us remind you that Mudryk passed a positive doping test after one of the matches at the end of October last year, after which he stopped being included in his club’s roster.

Mikhail himself confirmed that the test showed the presence of a prohibited substance in his body. Our compatriot said that he was shocked by the results, since he had never doped. It also became known that Mudryk was suspended from training at the club's Cobham base.