Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Athletic Club will be without Yeray Alvarez for the next 10 months, after he was sanctioned for a positive doping test. It means that he cannot play against until April, which is a big blow for Los Leones.

And on Wednesday, Yeray spoke to the media (via Sport) to reflect on the incident. He started by stating that he had no knowledge that the medication he took was a banned substance.

“I have been sanctioned for ten months by UEFA for taking a banned substance. I want to make it clear that I have never known that I was taking a banned substance. In the end, that is what I would like to make clear. I have not taken any substance to increase my performance.”

Yeray gives insight into positive doping test

Yeray explained the backstory behind the situation, which related to when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer back in 2016.

“In 2016 I started a chemotherapy process, a hard time. The biggest fear is hair loss. As a result of this process and after overcoming it, in one of the check-ups with the oncologist he told me about a certain treatment for alopecia. After chemo I started to lose hair, to have it weaker. I started such treatment in 2022. It consisted of taking a pill and a hair spray. It was a treatment that from the first moment I mentioned to Josean (the club’s medical director). I have taken this medication all this time and to this day I continue to do so.

“My partner, Naia, started the same treatment in December. It was a pill shot, a hair spray. A treatment that is carried out at night, before getting into bed. The week before the match against Manchester United, when I went to take one of the pills I take at night plus the hair spray I realized that I didn’t have any. I went to get the spare bottle and I didn’t have it. As a result of stress, because I had my routine and I didn’t have the pill, I decided to take my partner’s pill thinking that I had exactly the same as mine. We thought he had a substance called minoxymil without knowing that he had another substance that was prohibited.”