Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Serhii Palkin is backing Chelsea and Ukraine forward Mykhailo Mudryk to bounce back from his provisional suspension for a doping offence and hopes there will be clarity soon on his case.
Mudryk, 25, is unable to train with Chelsea after he was provisionally suspended having tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance Meldonium.
Mudryk was contacted in December 2024 by the FA regarding an "adverse finding in a routine urine test" and was provisionally suspended. He was then formally charged in June 2025 and is still waiting on a verdict on his case.
Mudryk denied any wrongdoing at the time, saying he had "never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules" and was "working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened."
Should he be found guilty, he could face a ban of up to four years under FA guidelines.
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Amid the uncertainty over his future, Palkin has kept in contact with the former Shakhtar player. Mudryk signed for Chelsea from Shakhtar in January 2023 for a fee of €70 million ($82m) up front plus an additional estimated €30m in add-ons, based on Chelsea's performance and Mudryk's contributions.
"We have €30 million [of] bonuses in his contract," Palkin said. "And if he is not playing, if Chelsea [are] not reaching results, we are losing €30m. That's a big financial impact for us. Therefore, everybody believes that this story will finish as soon as possible with positive results and Mudryk will return to playing. Otherwise, we will be in a position to lose €30m.
"I know Mudryk as a player and a person. I believe he will return and he will start playing. I know this because I've never met this kind of guy before in my life. He's a very hard worker. And he will prove he's in a position to play and bring results to team.
"But as I understand at this moment, everybody is waiting for the court's decision, and we don't have any information about when this will take place and when the final decision will be issued. Therefore, everybody is waiting for information."