Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana returns to first-team training with his ban for a doping violation to end next week – after year-long suspension was reduced to nine months following successful CAS appeal
- Andre Onana was hit with a year-long ban by UEFA after a positive doping test
- The suspension was reduced to nine months after Ajax’s successful CAS appeal
- Onana has returned to first-team training, with his ban ending on November 4
- First-choice goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg has been ruled out for the season
Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana has returned to first-team training with the club, with his ban for violating doping rules set to end on November 4.
UEFA hit Onana, 25, with a year-long suspension after the substance Furosemide was detected in his urine last October – but this was reduced to nine months following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Current first-choice stopper Maarten Stekelenburg has been ruled out for the rest of the season, and the Eredivisie club have announced that Onana will now become part of the senior squad once again.
Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana has returned to first-team training with his doping ban ending
Onana was able to resume training in September, but Ajax placed him in their Under-23s squad instead.
He has been linked with several elite clubs, including Arsenal, and his contract runs down next summer.
After talks over an extension broke down, his relations with the club soured.
UEFA hit Onana, 25, with a year-long suspension after Furosemide was detected in his urine
Explaining the decision to bring the Cameroon international back into the fold, manager Erik ten Hag said: ‘Nobody is happy with the situation created by the suspension. But we shouldn’t be naive either.
‘Andre is a fantastic keeper who has meant a lot to Ajax and he is fit. From the beginning of September he can train at Ajax again and he does that every day with full dedication.
‘It is important for Ajax that we have a deep and good selection at our disposal, there is room for Andre in that. So as of today, he will report back to the first team on the training field.’
Sporting director Marc Overmars has also insisted the club’s ‘needs are paramount’.
Erik ten Hag labelled Onana as a ‘fantastic goalkeeper’ when welcoming him back into the fold
‘It was clear to us that Andre would make a transfer last summer,’ he said. ‘That did not happen and so he is still under contract with us.
‘My position on his situation was clear, but then the news came that Maarten Stekelenburg is out for the rest of the season. Ajax needs are paramount and from this point of view it is good that he reports to the first team again.’
Despite being welcomed back, Onana may find his chances of minutes limited.
Onana has been linked with a number of elite clubs and his Ajax deal runs down next summer
Remko Pasveer, 37, has enjoyed superb form in recent weeks after filling in for former Everton man Stekelenburg between the sticks.
Ajax also signed Jay Gortor from Go Ahead Eagles last summer, further adding to the fierce competition Onana will face for a starting berth.
The Dutch giants are flying high in the top-flight, having picked up 25 points from their first 10 matches. They face Heracles next tomorrow.
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