Mudryk cleared to play again as FA doping case ends

Mykhailo Mudryk can return to football immediately after the Football Association confirmed that his anti-doping case has been closed. The 25-year-old Chelsea winger has not played a competitive match since November 2024, when he was provisionally suspended following an adverse finding for meldonium. The FA handed him a maximum four-year ban, but Mudryk took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In a statement on Friday, the FA said Mudryk had accepted breaking anti-doping rules and agreed to a suspension equal to the time he had already served. With the agreement of WADA, the appeal has been resolved and the player is free to play again. Mudryk called the wait the most difficult period of his career and said he is grateful to return. He repeated that he has never knowingly or intentionally taken a banned substance, and thanked everyone at Chelsea, saying he is ready for the next chapter. Chelsea said they are pleased the matter has reached a conclusion and want to help Mudryk regain full fitness, rejoin the squad and get back on the pitch. He is expected to join the club's pre-season tour. The FA had not previously commented on the case because its anti-doping programme is strictly confidential. It did confirm that Mudryk's adverse finding came from an out-of-competition test while on international duty with Ukraine in October 2024. Meldonium, a prohibited cardiovascular medication, was present in a low concentration; the substance can increase respiratory capacity and stamina. WADA has since updated its technical document on meldonium. Those changes are not retroactive, but the FA noted that if Mudryk were tested today, the concentration in his sample would not be reported and no adverse finding would be recorded. Mudryk remains under contract with Chelsea until 2031. He joined in 2022 for £61m from Shakhtar Donetsk on a long-term deal, part of the club's strategy to amortise transfer costs over the life of a contract. If the original ban had stood, he would have been sidelined until roughly December 2028.