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Enzo Maresca said that he had no knowledge of Mykhailo Mudryk, who was provisionally suspended by the Football Association after failing a doping test last December, turning up in Wroclaw before Chelsea’s Uefa Conference League final against Real Betis on Wednesday night.
Mudryk, who has not featured since November, caused a stir when he was spotted in a steak restaurant in the city on Tuesday afternoon. The £88.5m Ukraine international was wearing Chelsea merchandise and posed for photographs with supporters.
Mudryk is eligible to receive a medal from Uefa after the match and is expected to watch the game, although it is not clear if he will do so at Stadion Wroclaw or at an outside venue. It remains to be seen if he will be on the pitch at full time.
There was also no clarity on whether the former Shakhtar Donetsk attacker is staying in the team hotel or if Chelsea paid for his travel. Mudryk arrived in Poland before the rest of Chelsea’s squad.
The 24-year-old’s appearance even caught Maresca by surprise at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. Asked how pleased he was that the Ukrainian is here, Chelsea’s head coach was visibly confused and initially lost for words. “To be honest, I just … I don’t know, he is here or is coming?” Maresca said. “He is here? I don’t know. I am happy for Mischa to be here.”
Chelsea are favourites against Betis, who are in their first European final. The Stamford Bridge club are buoyant after qualifying for the Champions League and have an opportunity to win the first trophy since being bought by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital three years ago.
Maresca has taken the Conference League seriously despite it being seen from the outside as a lesser competition. “Probably the most complicated thing this season about the Conference has been to convince the players that for us it was the best competition in the world,” the Italian said.
Filip Jörgensen is set to start in goal for Chelsea and Maresca must decide whether to bring Nicolas Jackson back into the team after the striker’s red card against Newcastle earlier this month. It was suggested that Jackson has a debt to repay. It also remains to be seen if Maresca feels that Reece James, Chelsea’s captain, is ready to start for the second time in four days.
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Chelsea expended a lot of effort into securing their Champions League spot by beating Nottingham Forest on Sunday and are unhappy about having a quicker turnaround than Betis, whose final game of the La Liga season was moved back to last Friday.
“I read what Enzo said and I agree absolutely with him,” Manuel Pellegrini, the Betis manager, said. “I think that you cannot give any advantage to your rival. They had a difficult game on Sunday. They must qualify for the Champions League. They did it, so I am very happy for him. But it will not be an excuse. I am sure that Chelsea will be recuperated.”
