The Football Association has officially announced the lifting of a suspension against Chelsea's Ukrainian forward Mykhailo Mudryk, according to infohub.kz.
In late 2024, Mudryk's doping test came back positive for meldonium. The player was provisionally suspended but denied knowingly using the banned substance. In June 2025, he was formally charged with an anti-doping rule violation. In January of last year, reports emerged of a four-year ban, after which he lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Since then, changes have been made to the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) rules, meaning the concentration of meldonium found in Mudryk's sample would no longer be classified as a violation under the new regulations. That provision does not have retroactive effect, but the FA and the player's representatives, with WADA's consent, settled the appeal. Mudryk admitted the violation and agreed to a suspension equal to the time he had already served. As a result, the 25-year-old Ukrainian has no restrictions on playing.
In an Instagram post, Mudryk credited the "long struggle" for the lifting of the ban and said he is focused on returning to football. "I am grateful that this process has come to an end, that I have been allowed to return to football and that I can now look to the future. This was the most difficult period in my career. As I have always stated from the very beginning of this case, I have never knowingly or intentionally taken any prohibited substances. What has always been important to me is my desire to compete honestly and represent my club and country with professionalism and integrity. I would like to thank my family and friends for their support and belief throughout this period. I also want to express my deep gratitude to all the staff at Chelsea, my teammates and the fans who have been with me throughout this time," Mudryk said.
Mudryk is expected to join Chelsea in Hong Kong as part of their preseason tour. Forward Dastan Satpayev is also with the London club. The 17-year-old has already scored his debut goal for Chelsea in a friendly match.