Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho fails drugs test

Liverpool defender investigated over failed drugs test, club says he will not be available for forthcoming matches

Mamadou Sakho
Mamadou Sakho

Liverpool have sidelined defender Mamadou Sakho after being notified the French player is being investigated over a failed drugs test.

The alleged offence relates to Liverpool’s Europa League second-leg tie at Manchester United last month and is believed to concern a fat-burning substance.

Although the France international, 26, is not officially suspended, he will "not be available" for selection during the investigation, Liverpool said.

The player has until Tuesday to provide a B sample.

Sakho, an €23 million signing from Paris St-Germain in 2013, has played 34 games this season, including 10 in the Europa League.

He scored in Liverpool's 4-3 victory over Borussia Dortmund on 14 April which secured their place in the semi-finals.

Liverpool, who are seventh in the Premier League, host Newcastle at Anfield on Saturday.

Sakho's Liverpool team-mate Kolo Toure was banned for six months in 2011 while at Manchester City after testing positive for a weight-loss drug contained within "water tablets" recommended to him by his wife.

A similar ban for Sakho would rule him out of Euro 2016 in France, which starts on 10 June.