Paul Pogba can resume training with Juventus from January and start playing matches in March.
Fans of the midfielder have reasons to celebrate as he just had his 4 year drugs ban reduced to 18 months by CAS.
Pogba was suspended by Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal (Nado) in February after a drugs test found elevated levels of testosterone – a hormone that increases endurance – in his system.
However, Cas director general Matthieu Reeb confirmed to Reuters the ban had been reduced to 18 months from 11 September, 2023.
In response, Pogba said in a statement, “Finally the nightmare is over. I can look forward to the day when I can follow my dreams again.
“I always stated that I never knowingly breached World Anti-Doping Agency regulations when I took a nutritional supplement prescribed to me by a doctor, which does not affect or enhance the performance of male athletes.
“I play with integrity and, although I must accept that this is a strict liability offence, I want to place on record my thanks to the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s judges who heard my explanation.
“This has been a hugely distressing period in my life because everything I have worked so hard for has been put on hold”, the statement further read.
The France international took his case to Cas and gave evidence in person at a hearing earlier this summer.
He previously said he would “never knowingly or deliberately” dope and believed the verdict was “incorrect”.
Had the original ban stood, the 2018 World Cup winner would have been unable to play until 2027, when he will be 34.
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