Chelsea's Mudryk cleared to return to football after doping ban resolved

Mykhailo Mudryk

Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk is free to return to competitive football with immediate effect after the Football Association and World Anti-Doping Agency reached an agreement that brings his long-running doping case to an end.

The Ukrainian winger had been handed a four-year suspension after a 2024 test detected a low concentration of meldonium, a prohibited substance. He subsequently appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), fighting to overturn the ban that had kept him out of football since November 2024.

The case has now been resolved without Mudryk having to serve the full four-year punishment.

The FA said the agreement takes into account changes to WADA's procedures concerning meldonium. Under the current rules, the concentration detected in Mudryk's sample would not have been reported as an adverse finding had the test been conducted today.

“Changes have been made ... which, while not retroactive, mean that if Mr Mudryk's sample was collected today, the concentration of meldonium in the sample would not have been reported and no anti-doping rule violations would have resulted,” the FA said.

Under the settlement, Mudryk accepted that an anti-doping rule violation had occurred but agreed to a period of ineligibility equivalent to the time he had already served.

That means the 25-year-old can immediately resume his football career.

‘Most difficult period of my career’

Mudryk described the resolution as the end of an ordeal that had overshadowed his career for more than a year.

“I am grateful that this process has reached a conclusion, that I have been cleared to return to football and that I can now look ahead to my future,” he said.

The Chelsea winger added that the suspension had been “the most difficult period of my career.”

Mudryk had consistently maintained that he never knowingly or intentionally took a banned substance. His original suspension followed an adverse finding from a routine test, and the matter eventually escalated into a four-year ban before he took the case to CAS.

The latest agreement means there will be no need for a full CAS hearing to determine the appeal.

Chelsea welcome Mudryk back

Chelsea have also welcomed the resolution, saying the club is ready to help Mudryk return to full fitness and reintegrate into the squad.

“We have always supported Misha throughout this process while fully respecting the integrity of the anti-doping system and the legal process,” the club said.

Chelsea added that it would support the winger as he resumes his career after the lengthy absence.

Mudryk joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 in a deal worth up to about £89 million and was handed an unusually long contract running until 2031.

But his promising Stamford Bridge career was abruptly interrupted after the adverse test.

A second chance after 18 months away

The resolution gives Mudryk a chance to restart a Chelsea career that had stalled at its most difficult point.

He has not played a competitive match since November 2024, meaning his return will involve more than simply stepping back onto the pitch. After such a lengthy absence, rebuilding match fitness and forcing his way back into Chelsea's plans will be the immediate challenge.

The circumstances of his case also highlight how changes in anti-doping science and testing thresholds can affect long-running disciplinary proceedings. The FA stressed that the updated rules are not retroactive, meaning they did not erase the original finding; rather, they formed part of the basis for resolving the appeal and determining that Mudryk had already served the appropriate period of suspension.

For Mudryk, however, the outcome is ultimately about getting back to football.

After 18 months on the sidelines, the Chelsea winger can finally look forward to competing again — with his future on the pitch no longer determined by a ban.