Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been cleared to resume competitive football with immediate effect after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) partially upheld his appeal against a doping ban.Read priginal
Mudryk had not featured for Chelsea since November 2024 after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium. He was provisionally suspended and had reportedly been handed a four-year ban.
However, CAS ruled that the Ukrainian international could return to action after accepting responsibility for breaching anti-doping regulations and reaching an agreement that his suspension would be limited to the period he had already served.
In a statement, the Football Association (FA) explained that updates to scientific testing standards played a key role in resolving the case.
According to the FA, if Mudryk's sample had been analysed under the current reporting standards, the level of meldonium detected would not have been considered a positive result, and no anti-doping rule violation would have been recorded.
The FA added that, with the approval of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), both parties agreed to settle the appeal. As part of the agreement, Mudryk admitted to the Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) and accepted a suspension equivalent to the time he had already spent out of football.
The FA confirmed that the 25-year-old is no longer suspended and is eligible to return to competitive football immediately.
Chelsea also welcomed the outcome, saying improvements in scientific reporting standards provided important context to the case.
The Premier League club stated that under today's testing requirements, Mudryk's sample would not have been reported as a positive test, allowing all parties to move forward.
Mudryk joined Chelsea from Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 in a deal worth up to £88 million. His return is expected to strengthen Chelsea's attacking options ahead of the new season.
