Chelsea star Mykhailo Mudryk cleared to return to football as FA issue statement

Chelsea star Mykhailo Mudryk has been cleared to make an immediate return to football after being hit with the biggest ban in Premier League history, the FA have confirmed.

Ukraine international Mudryk was provisionally suspended by the Football Association in December 2024 having tested positive for the banned substance meldonium.

In April 2026, it was announced that he had been punished with a four-year suspension.

Mudryk launched an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and enlisted the help of Morgan Sports Law, who previously represented Paul Pogba and boxer Tyson Fury.

Having been banned from playing and training with Chelsea, the former Shakhtar Donetsk winger is now free to resume his playing career following changes made to the WADA Technical Document.

Mudryk accepted an anti-doping violation and remains guilty, but a resolution was reached with all parties.

The aforementioned changes mean that if the sample from Mudryk was collected today, there would not have been anti-doping violation.

He will now travel to Hong Kong with Chelsea for pre-season.

An FA statement read: "The FA can confirm that the anti-doping disciplinary proceedings against Mykhailo Mudryk were resolved with the agreement of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on 30 July 2026. In the context of that agreement, Mr Mudryk has accepted his commission of Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) and accepted a period of ineligibility.

"On 22 October 2024, Mr Mudryk was subject to an out-of-competition doping control, which revealed the presence of a low concentration of meldonium, a prohibited substance.

"The FA notified Mr Mudryk of that finding on 4 December 2024 and imposed a provisional suspension. On 23 May 2025, The FA charged Mr Mudryk with ADRVs in breach of Regulations 3 and 4 of its 2024 Anti-Doping Regulations.

"On 7 to 9 January 2026, a hearing took place before an independent Regulatory Commission. The Regulatory Commission found that Mr Mudryk had committed the charged ADRVs and imposed a four-year period of ineligibility. Subsequently, Mr Mudryk filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"Since then, changes have been made to WADA Technical Document (TD2027MRL) 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 ADRVs would have resulted.

"Further to that development and to other circumstances of the case, The FA and Mr Mudryk have now - with the agreement of WADA - resolved the appeal proceedings in accordance with Article 10.8.2 of the World Anti-Doping Code and Regulation 90 of the 2024 Anti-Doping Regulations. As a part of the agreement, Mr Mudryk accepted that he had committed the ADRVs charged and acceded to a period of ineligibility equal to the time served at the date of the agreement.

"Mr Mudryk is no longer ineligible and may return to competition with immediate effect."

Following up with a statement of their own, Chelsea said: "We know how much this opportunity to return means to him. Our focus now is on supporting Misha’s reintegration into the squad and helping him resume his career. Everyone at the Club now looks forward to helping Misha return to full fitness, back into the squad and back onto the pitch”.

Mudryk has not played competitively since a 2-0 win over Heidenheim in the Conference League on November 28 2024.

Initially, then-manager Enzo Maresca put his absence down to illness before the FA's provisional suspension and sanction followed after an adverse finding in a routine urine test.

Mudryk has been seen training at facilities belonging to non-league side Uxbridge FC. He still has a contract with Chelsea which runs until 2031, having made 73 appearances since his £88.5 million move in January 2023.