Bayern Munich forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol, the club announced Thursday.
The Cameroon international has returned from international duty with Cameroon and tested positive for the substance following a match on Oct. 17, the club said in a statement.
Choupo-Moting was linked to the doping case involving the party at the centre of the New York City doping scandal but was not named in the drug-in-contaminated-accessory probe.
“Choupo-Moting had been on its league team for a month, but for procedural reasons we could not select him for Saturday’s game against Darmstadt,” Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.
The 30-year-old Choupo-Moting has struggled to make an impact since joining Bayern Munich in a ??12 million ($13.4 million) move from Nantes this summer.
He started four of the club’s games in the Bundesliga and two in the German Cup, but has not featured since the turn of the year in favour of the younger Julian Brandt.
“It’s a big concern for me, I gave my all for the club and I didn’t make any changes in my practice or my diet,” Choupo-Moting was quoted as saying by German website Allianz Sport on Thursday.
“I’m not in perfect condition, so I’m not playing as often as I would like to.
“But I’m clear as I have done nothing wrong and I know what I did was within the rules.”
The news is a fresh blow for the Bundesliga champions as they grapple with a virus that forced several top players out of training on Wednesday.
Defender David Alaba, Lucas Goetze, Jerome Boateng, James Rodriguez and Mats Hummels were among those missing from training with an illness that affects the groin and abdomen area.
Arjen Robben, Thiago Alcantara, Renato Sanches and Javi Martinez were also absent, with Guardiola bemoaning their absence ahead of Saturday’s home game against Hertha Berlin.
“We feel bad about this and I know how we feel about the absences,” he said.
“But we have not seen this ever in our careers so far, which is sad. I am really worried and I hope we will recover quickly.”
Choupo-Moting’s admission comes five days after Brazilian midfielder Douglas Costa tested positive for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.
It has forced Guardiola to use Bastian Schweinsteiger as a defensive midfielder, while Arturo Vidal is also likely to fill in at right-back in place of the dropped Boateng.