Hamburg's Mario Vušković returns to action after four-year doping ban
Hamburg defender Mario Vušković featured in a friendly against former club Hajduk Split on Sunday, his first game back after serving a four-year doping suspension.
The Croatian, 24, last played on 9 November 2022, featuring in Hamburg's 1-0 Bundesliga 2 defeat to Greuther Fürth before a doping case ultimately resulted in a multi-year ban.
After returning to team training in September, HSV, now back in the Bundesliga, moved a session to the Volksparkstadion, giving Vušković his first chance to train at the club’s home ground before returning to action in Sunday’s friendly against Hajduk Split.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a two-year suspension imposed by the German Football Association Sports Court in August 2024 and extended the ban to four years, ruling that Vušković had used the performance-enhancing drug EPO.
Vušković was named in the starting line-up against his hometown club Hajduk Split, with 50,000 fans in attendance to witness the occasion. He played 65 minutes of the 1-1 draw before being substituted off and replaced by Sebastiaan Borauw.
Hamburg stood by their defender during his enforced absence, handing him a new contract in 2024. Eligible to play again, Vušković is ready to reintergrate himself within the squad with one eye on Matchday 11's Nordderby against Werder Bremen.
"When we start our training week ahead of the Nordderby on Tuesday, everything will be back to normal," he explained. "On the pitch, it already feels that way. I feel like part of the team again, too. The other lads have welcomed me as if I'd been playing alongside them for the past four years."
