Manchester City defender Kolo Toure has been suspended after testing positive for a “specified substance,” the club confirmed on Thursday.
The Ivory Coast international has been informed by the Football Association that his A sample returned a positive result and he will not be allowed to play any games until a full investigation has been undertaken.
Toure is the first Premier League player to fail a drugs test since Adrian Mutu, then at Chelsea, in 2004.
The World Anti-Doping Agency defines a specified substance as one that is “more susceptible to a credible, non-doping explanation” and can impose sanctions ranging from a warning to a two-year ban.
Toure was left out of City’s squad for the FA Cup win over Aston Villa on Wednesday because the club was aware of the suspension.
“He has been suspended from participating in all first team and non-first team matches pending the outcome of the legal process,” City said in a statement on its website.
The FA also confirmed “that a player has been provisionally suspended from playing pending investigation, having tested positive for the use of a prohibited substance.”
