PREMIER LEAGUE stars are among NINE footballers to have been caught using banned substances since 2022.
The number of players getting caught for doping is on the rise, with four players — including from the English top flight — testing positive last year alone.
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Two of those four players are still under investigation, with the stars facing hefty bans from the game.
The two unnamed players tested positive for a banned substance straight after games, according to UK Anti-Doping.
Despite testing positive, all nine stars were secretly allowed to play on for their clubs, after the FA accepted drugs were for medical purposes or taken “via a permitted route”.
Players were caught taking banned drugs including Tamoxifen, Triamcinolone and Amphetamine.
Triamcinolone is the substance controversially given to cycling legend Bradley Wiggins before he won the Tour de France in 2012 which helps players lose weight without reducing power.
Tamoxifen is known to help players build up muscle, while Amphetamine helps with increased endurance.
The latest UKAD stats do not include Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk, who was caught using Meldonium while playing overseas for Ukraine. It can enhance recovery after matches.
Mudryk, 24, who denies any wrongdoing, has been provisionally suspended from football and could receive a four-year ban.
Ex-Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba was banned from football for four years and sacked by Juventus after testing positive for banned substance DHEA, which boosts testosterone production.
Last month we revealed how Prem stars are among 530 players being treated for addiction to drugs, alcohol and gambling plus some have mental health issues.
And last season, 80 professional players sought therapy for problems with illicit substances, such as cocaine and nitrous oxide as well as sleeping pills and booze.
Brentford star Christian Norgaard has revealed he previously feared he was becoming addicted to sleeping tablets. He said: “It’s a topic that has been going under the radar.”
Some have become addicted to using black market Zopiclone tablets to help them sleep.
Two unnamed players also tested positive for a banned substance immediately after games in the Prem and EFL last season, say UK Anti-Doping chiefs.
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