Mykhailo Mudryk’s long wait ends with emotional Chelsea comeback
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Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk during the warm up before the match.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Mykhailo Mudryk made an emotional return to Chelsea on Aug 5 after his anti-doping ban was reduced, playing in a pre-season match against Juventus in Hong Kong.
- Mudryk was initially banned for four years for testing positive for meldonium but was cleared after the FA and WADA agreed changes to the doping rules.
- Chelsea manager Xavi Alonso described Mudryk's return as both a human and emotional decision, highlighting the strong support from the club and fans.
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HONG KONG – Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk re-launched his career with an emotional return to the Chelsea team on Aug 5, days after learning that his anti-doping ban had been reduced.
The 25-year-old came off the bench in Chelsea’s pre-season Tour clash with Juventus in Hong Kong, his first action since being told of an adverse analytical finding in December 2024.
“I’m really pleased for him,” Chelsea manager Xavi Alonso said after the 1-0 defeat. “It was emotional for everyone from the club to see him back.
“When I told him before the game he could play 10 or 15 minutes, he was thrilled for sure. It was after such a long period (that he couldn’t play with the team), so it was a great feeling for him and for everyone else.”
Mudryk joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2023 for an initial fee of £62 million (S$107 million) but his career looked in peril when hit with a four-year ban by the English Football Association for testing positive for the banned substance meldonium.
He always insisted he had never knowingly or intentionally taken a banned substance and was cleared to resume playing on July 29 after the FA concluded disciplinary proceedings in agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Before the game on Aug 5, Alonso said ‘no decision’ had been made about Mudryk’s future at Chelsea. Following the match he said it had been important to get Mudryk back on the pitch.
“It was more than a football decision. It was a human decision and emotional decision to give him this boost, to feel the great support that he got and the great reception when he came on the pitch,” the Spaniard said.
After last week’s hearing the FA noted that Mudryk would not have returned an adverse finding under WADA’s current technical document, due to changes made after he had tested positive.
“If Mr Mudryk’s sample was collected today, the concentration of meldonium in the sample would not have been reported and no ADRVs would have resulted,” the FA said. REUTERS
