Chelsea winger, Mykhailo Mudryk, has described the past 20 months as “the most difficult period” of his career after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cleared him to return to competitive football with immediate effect.
The 25-year-old made the remarks in a statement posted on his Instagram account after CAS partially upheld his appeal against a four-year anti-doping ban. The ruling followed an agreement between Mudryk, the Football Association (FA) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Earlier on Friday, the BBC reported that Chelsea would reintegrate the Ukraine international into the first-team squad, with the winger expected to join the club’s pre-season tour.
“This has been the most difficult period of my career,” Mudryk wrote.
“I am grateful that this process has reached a conclusion, that I have been cleared to return to football and that I can now look ahead to my future.”
Mudryk reiterated that he had never knowingly taken a prohibited substance and said he had maintained that position throughout the case.
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“As I have always maintained from the outset of this case, I have never knowingly or intentionally taken any banned substance. My commitment to competing fairly and representing my club and country with professionalism and integrity has always been important to me.”
The Ukrainian also thanked his family, friends, Chelsea, his teammates, supporters and legal team for supporting him during the suspension.
“My focus now is on returning to football, working hard every day, and making a positive contribution on the pitch,” he added.
Mudryk has not played a competitive match since November 2024 after he was provisionally suspended following an adverse finding for meldonium in an out-of-competition test while on international duty with Ukraine.
CAS ruled that changes to WADA’s technical reporting standards mean the low concentration of meldonium detected in Mudryk’s sample would not have been reported had the test been conducted under the current guidelines.
As part of the settlement, the winger accepted a suspension equivalent to the time already served, making him immediately eligible to return.
Chelsea welcomed the decision, saying the club now looks forward to helping Mudryk regain full fitness and resume his career with the first team.
