Chelsea's Mudryk free to play after appeal against doping ban

What the report says

Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk is now free to play again after his anti-doping case was resolved with the Football Association, BBC Sport Football reported. The Ukraine international, 25, had not played competitively since November 2024 after being provisionally suspended following an adverse finding for meldonium, a banned substance. He was later given a four-year ban by the FA, but appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

According to the FA’s statement, the disciplinary process has now been settled with Mudryk and, with the agreement of the World Anti-Doping Agency, he can return to competition immediately. The reported outcome is that he accepted a breach of the anti-doping rules and agreed to a suspension equal to time already served. BBC Sport said the original test was taken while he was on international duty with Ukraine in October 2024.

Mudryk said he was grateful to return after what he described as the hardest period of his career, while maintaining he never knowingly or intentionally took a banned substance. Chelsea said they were pleased the matter was concluded and that they would help him regain full fitness and rejoin the squad. The club also said he will join its pre-season tour.

The case matters because Mudryk remains a long-term Chelsea player, having joined from Shakhtar Donetsk for an initial fee reported at €70m in January 2023 and being under contract until 2031.