James Segeyaro will be free to resume his career in June, after being handed a 20-month suspension by the NRL's anti-doping tribunal.
The ban is backdated to his initial suspension in October 2019, and will end on June 2.
Segeyaro, who also played in the NRL for North Queensland, Penrith, and Cronulla, last played in the top grade for Brisbane two years ago, notching 13 appearances in his one season at the club.
"The Anti-Doping Tribunal, chaired by the Honourable Ian Callinan AC QC with panellists Dr Sharron Flahive and Mr Sean Garlick, found that Mr Segeyaro breached the NRL's Anti-Doping Policy in September 2019 when he tested positive to the presence of Di-Hydroxy LGD-4033 (Ligandrol)," a statement from the NRL read.
The 30-year-old will no doubt be in high-demand, with hooker a position of need for several clubs.
The tribunal said that although Segeyaro "bore a significant degree of responsibility" for testing positive, he had not intentionally taken Ligandrol.
"[It] was likely to have entered his system via the use of a food blender maintained by a member of his household that contained residues of the substance," the tribunal's statement read.
"Having been satisfied that the doping was not intentional, the Tribunal determined that Mr Segeyaro was entitled to a reduced sanction under the WADA Code."
The news that he could return to the field in a matter of months was a welcome piece of good news for Segeyaro, who was recently in the spotlight after being allegedly racially abused in Cronulla last month, leading to an altercation.
And he greeted his return date with excitement, quoting himself in an Instagram post via his fashion label:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLa8dGKn4kt/?utm_source=ig_embed&
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