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Yeray Alvarez got a 10-month ban for testing positive for Canrenone.
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UEFA says it was “involuntary,” but he’s out until April.
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Athletic now face defensive gaps until his return.
UEFA has banned Athletic Club defender Yeray Alvarez for 10 months after he failed a drugs test taken after the Europa League semi-final first leg with Manchester United.
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UEFA said the sample taken after the May 1 match “revealed the presence of Canrenone”, – a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
UEFA added that the 30-year-old took the substance “involuntarily”, explaining it came from medicine he used to treat hair loss after his cancer treatment.
Alvarez accepted a voluntary provisional suspension in June, and UEFA backdated the 10-month ban, so he can play again from early April and resume team training about two months earlier.
Yeray Alvarez first battled testicular cancer in 2016; he returned in 2017, faced a recurrence later that year and made another comeback in 2018.
That history makes this latest blow especially hard for fans.
The positive result followed Athletic’s 3-0 home defeat to Manchester United.
A late attempt to re-sign Aymeric Laporte fell through in the transfer window, leaving the club short on experienced centre-backs and adding pressure to their defence.
Looking ahead, Athletic or Alvarez may appeal the ruling.
For now, the squad must adapt and carry on without him, while Yeray Alvarez works on his fitness and targets a determined return in April.
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