Mudryk set for Chelsea return after doping case resolved
Mykhailo Mudryk can return to football immediately after Chelsea and the Football Association resolved his doping case. The winger is set to join the club’s…
HONG KONG — Mudryk can return to football immediately after Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk resolved his doping case with the Football Association, clearing the way for him to join the club’s pre-season tour.
The 25-year-old Ukraine international has not played since November 2024, when he was provisionally suspended after an adverse finding for meldonium. Chelsea now expect him to link up with the squad at their next pre-season stop.
FA ends proceedings after appeal resolution
The FA said it has ended its anti-doping proceedings after Mudryk accepted breaching anti-doping rules and agreed to a suspension equal to the one year and eight months he had already served. ESPN reported that Mudryk may return to competition with immediate effect after the English Football Association and the World Anti-Doping Agency resolved his appeal.
The case had been heading through the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Changes to WADA procedures in the interim also became part of the explanation, with the FA saying that if Mudryk’s sample had been collected today, the concentration of meldonium would not have been reported and no anti-doping rule violations would have followed.
That leaves Chelsea with a player signed in 2023 for €100 million ($115m / £86m) on an 8 1/2-year deal to 2031. The club had already built out its squad on the wings while Mudryk was unavailable. Now he is back in the picture. But not at full speed yet.
Alonso says it is too early to judge fitness
Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso said he was “very happy” to welcome Mudryk back, while stressing that it is “too early” to understand what the winger can do after so long away.
“Yes, he is coming to Hong Kong, but I haven't spoken to him yet,” Alonso said after Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat by 10-man Tottenham in Sydney. He added: “It's too early to tell how he is in terms of fitness, in terms of the game time you need to be involved again, so it's still too early to tell.”
Alonso also said Chelsea expect the comeback to take time. He said Mudryk trained on his own every day and had been unable to train at Chelsea’s training ground or work with club staff during the suspension period.
“We expect that it will take time,” Alonso said. “Afterwards we will see if it's quicker or slower, but we need to be aware of that. We want him to feel part of the team. Once he is with us, we will see how things develop.”
Chelsea said it will support the 25-year-old’s “reintegration into the squad” and help him resume his career. Mudryk, for his part, said the suspension had been the “most difficult period of my career” and that he was “grateful” to be able to return.
“After a long battle, the four-year ban that was imposed on me has been rescinded, and I am free to resume my career with immediate effect,” he said in a social media post. The next step is simple enough. He goes to Hong Kong with Chelsea, and the club starts the slow work of getting him ready again.
