- Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk can return immediately after the FA, WADA, and the player reached a settlement over his doping case.
Mudryk cleared to return after doping case settlement
According to Simon Johnson of The Athletic, the player will join Chelsea's preseason camp in Hong Kong to prepare for the 2026-27 season under Xabi Alonso. However, the latest reports didn’t suggest the stance of Xabi Alonso on the return of the player, as the club already has enough depth on the wings.
How the Chelsea winger tested positive for meldonium
In November 2024, Mudryk provided an out-of-competition doping sample, and the sample was found to contain a low concentration of meldonium, a substance prohibited under WADA regulations at the time. Then, on 4 December 2024, the FA notified Mudryk and provisionally suspended him for 4 years, which is the maximum punishment for a doping case under the FA.
FA charged Mudryk under regulation 3 for the presence of a prohibited substance in an athlete's sample and regulation 4 for the use or attempted use of a prohibited substance. Under anti-doping rules, the presence of a prohibited substance in your sample is enough to constitute an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV), regardless of whether there is proof that it enhanced performance.
An independent FA Regulatory Commission found that Mudryk had committed the violations and imposed a four-year ban from football, but Mudryk appealed that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
How WADA's updated guidance changed the appeal
After the original decision of the Mudryk case, WADA updated its technical guidance (TD2027MRL). The update introduced a minimum reporting level for meldonium; this means if an athlete's sample today contains only a very small amount of meldonium, laboratories do not report it as a positive test. Therefore, Mudryk's sample would not have triggered an anti-doping case if it had been collected under today's technical standards.
Taking into account the updated WADA technical guidance, the very low concentration of meldonium, and other circumstances of the case, the FA, WADA, and Mudryk agreed to settle the appeal instead of continuing the CAS proceedings.
According to FA’s statement today, Mudryk agreed to accept that he committed the anti-doping rule violations and accept a period of ineligibility equal to the time he had already served.
What happens next for Mudryk and Chelsea
As a result, Mudryk is immediately eligible to resume his professional career and is expected to rejoin Chelsea's preparations for the 2026-27 season.