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Socceroos winger Cristian Volpato has returned to training with Serie A side Sassuolo. The Italian club put out a statement as the 22-year-old linked back up with the team following his exploits at the World Cup, addressing reports that he was caught speeding in Sydney and tested positive for cocaine in a roadside drug test. According to Calciomercato – translated from Italian – the club said in a press release: “Cristian Volpato has returned to the team as normal after undergoing the usual medical checks and specific urine and blood tests arranged in agreement with the player in recent days to assess his condition following the news that emerged in the press. “All tests performed returned negative results.” Volpato was one of the breakout stars of Australia’s World Cup campaign, which ended in the Round of 32 after a penalty shootout loss to Egypt. After a four-year saga surrounding his international allegiance, where the winger suggested he was waiting to represent Italy, he officially committed to the Socceroos ahead of this tournament and endeared himself greatly to the Aussie public. The Sassuolo star dazzled off the bench against the USA, earning him starts against Paraguay and Egypt as he showed glimpses of being a real game-changer at international level. After the tournament, he spent time back home with family and friends, appearing at an Australia Cup game and his former academy, while also making time for an array of media commitments. Just prior to heading back to Italy for pre-season, he made headlines for the wrong reasons. The Sydney Morning Herald first reported that Volpato was caught driving at 109km/h in a 60km/h zone across the Anzac Bridge last week, while 10 News reported that the World Cup star said his drink had been spiked. He underwent voluntarily, independent testing, which returned a negative result as he denied the allegations. Volpato’s international driver’s license was suspended for six months, although he was not charged with a criminal offence. In terms of whether this will result in a football sanction, FIFA enforces the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code for recreational drug use across all of its member associations and recreational drug use is only prohibited in competition (unless it is used out of competition but an athlete tests positive during competition as it is in their system still, for which the ban is three months, potentially reduced to one if rehab is undertaken). Football Australia falls into line with these policies, which are overseen by Sport Integrity Australia, who manage FA’s National Anti-Doping Policy. However, if a player is caught by law enforcement, as has happened here, FA can treat this as a breach of the National Code of Conduct and Ethics and issue a separate sanction but they have not taken this action yet.