Paul Pogba doping test confirms banned testosterone

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba looks set to receive a lengthy suspension after a back-up sample test confirmed the presence of a banned testosterone in his system.

The French international was subject to a routine drugs test after Juventus’ 3-0 win over Udinese on 20 August. In September it was announced that Pogba’s sample had tested positive for “non-endogenous testosterone metabolites”, which are outlawed.

A statement from NADO Italia, the national anti-doping tribunal, added that the results were “consistent with the exogenous origin of the target compounds”.

A second sample was tested and the results, released on Friday, matched the original findings. Pogba is yet to comment but the 30-year-old looks set to face a long spell on the sidelines. When the initial results were announced Pogba was provisionally suspended.

How long could Paul Pogba be banned for?

Pogba returned to Juventus in the summer of 2022 after an underwhelming six-year spell at Manchester United. It was hoped that the Frenchman would rediscover his previous form in Italy, when he rose to become one of the most coveted midfielders in the world.

However that has not materialised and his first season back at Juventus was hampered by injury, playing just six Serie A Games. He has also suffered fitness issues this season and his future in Turin now looks increasingly precarious.

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Pogba is still allowed to provide an explanation for the positive tests, but if found guilty of doping he could be suspended for a period of between two and four years.

Aged 30, and with a persistent knee injury that saw him miss the World Cup in Qatar, a guilty verdict would likely spell the end of Pogba’s time with Juventus.