Chelsea's winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been allowed to return to football after the Football Association and World Anti-Doping Agency overturned a four-year ban.
The Ukraine international was suspended following a low concentration of meldonium, which is banned in anti-doping rules.
Mudryk appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport contending that he was wrongly ruled out and should be allowed to play right away.
Changes introduced to WADA procedures during the appeal process played an important role in the resolution of the case.
The concentration found in Mudryk's sample would not be measured under the rules in effect today and would not result in an anti-doping rule violation, the FA said.
The FA said 'changes have been made' meaning that if Mr Mudryk had collected his sample in today's climate the concentration of meldonium in the sample would not have been reported, and no anti-doping rule violation would have been found.
The case has been resolved after discussions were held with Mudryk and WADA,” added the governing body.
Under the terms of the agreement, Mudryk took the anti-doping violations that had been charged against him and was ineligible for the same amount of time.
Mr Mudryk, who is no longer deemed to be ineligible, is free to compete immediately, the FA said.
Mudryk's last competitive game was on Nov. 21, 2024.
The 25-year-old was signed by Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk for a reported £62million, but failed to break into the squad before getting the boot.
Now he will have a chance to get back to his Chelsea career and impress new head coach Xabi Alonso.
Chelsea embraced the decision and stated that the club will concentrate on reintegrating the winger into the club.
Misha's first few months have been very tough on him as a player and as a human being and we're glad this is over and he can get back to football as soon as possible.”
Chelsea said that it did not know Mudryk knowingly or intentionally consumed a banned substance, and did not know how traces of meldonium got into his system.
The club congratulated the Ukrainian for his professional manner and fortitude throughout the case, especially during one of the toughest times of his career.
Chelsea will now see Mudryk back in the first team training block as he gets ready to return to competition.
