• Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been cleared to return to football after the FA and WADA agreed to end his anti-doping case, overturning his four-year suspension.

• Mudryk was initially banned after testing positive for meldonium in 2024, but changes to WADA’s reporting thresholds meant the level detected would no longer trigger an anti-doping violation today.

• The Ukrainian international has maintained his innocence throughout the case, thanking Chelsea, his family and supporters after the FA confirmed he is eligible to play again with immediate effect.

Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk is free to play football again after the Football Association (FA) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) reached an agreement to end his anti-doping case. Although Mudryk was initially handed a four-year ban, the punishment has now been overturned following changes to WADA’s testing rules and a successful appeal process.

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Here’s everything you need to know about what happened, why he was banned, and why he has now been cleared to return.

The case began on 22 October 2024, when Mudryk underwent an out-of-competition drug test. The test detected a low concentration of meldonium, a substance banned under WADA’s anti-doping rules because it can enhance endurance and athletic performance. After receiving the laboratory results, the FA notified Mudryk on 4 December 2024 and immediately imposed a provisional suspension, preventing him from playing while investigations continued.

The FA later charged the Ukrainian international in May 2025 with violating its Anti-Doping Regulations.

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Meldonium is a prescription medicine developed to treat certain heart conditions. Although it is legal for medical use in some countries, WADA banned it in 2016 after studies suggested it could improve endurance, speed up recovery and give athletes an unfair advantage.

An independent Regulatory Commission heard the case in January 2026. After reviewing the evidence, the panel ruled that Mudryk had committed Anti-Doping Rule Violations and imposed a four-year suspension, one of the harshest penalties available under anti-doping regulations. Mudryk appealed the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), maintaining throughout the process that he had never intentionally taken a banned substance.

According to reports from the Mirror, the turning point came after WADA updated its Technical Document (TD2027MRL), which sets the minimum reporting levels for certain prohibited substances. According to the FA, under the updated scientific threshold, the amount of meldonium found in Mudryk’s sample would no longer be reported as an anti-doping violation if the same test were conducted today.

The FA said:

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Following those developments, the FA, Mudryk and WADA reached an agreement to resolve the appeal.

The FA confirmed that the disciplinary proceedings were officially resolved on 30 July 2026 with WADA’s agreement. Although Mudryk accepted that an anti-doping rule violation had technically occurred under the rules in force at the time, the parties agreed that the period he had already served was sufficient.

The FA said:

That means the four-year suspension has effectively been lifted, allowing him to resume his career immediately.

Breaking his silence on Instagram, the Chelsea winger described the ordeal as the toughest period of his career.

Mudryk reiterated that he had never knowingly taken a prohibited substance.

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He also thanked Chelsea, his teammates, supporters, family and legal team for standing by him throughout the process.

Looking ahead, he added:

Mudryk is expected to rejoin Chelsea immediately. The Ukrainian international is set to join the club’s squad during pre-season as he begins rebuilding his career after nearly 2 years away from competitive football.