Richard Keogh was wrongfully dismissed by Derby County after he won an appeal taken by the club against a decision made in the English Football League's Player Related Dispute Commission (PRDC).
Keogh had his contract terminated by the club in 2019 after Keogh suffered an injury in a car accident.
With 21 months left to run on the contract worth over £20,000 per week, it is understood Derby will have to pay Keogh in the region of £2 million.
An EFL statement read: "The LAC has heard and dismissed an appeal under the regulations of the EFL by Derby against the decision of the PRDC in the case of Richard Keogh. The PDRC held that Mr Keogh had not committed gross misconduct, that he had not brought the club into serious disrepute and that he had been wrongly dismissed by the club."
The PRDC held that Keogh "had not committed gross misconduct, that he had not brought the club into serious disrepute, and that he had been wrongfully dismissed by the club".
The centre half was a backseat passenger in a car being driven by his Derby County team mate Tom Lawrence. Another Rams player Mason Bennett also crashed the car he was driving in the same incident and both drivers have been convicted of drink driving.
Keogh is back in the Championship with Huddersfield Town after initially joining MK Dons following his dismissal by Derby.
Keogh could be entitled to the payment of the remainder of his Derby County contract which had over 18 months to run, amounting to a seven-figure fee.
