LONDON: Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho is almost certain to miss Euro 2016 after accepting the result of a failed drug test.

Liverpool’s France defender Mamadou Sakho is likely to be banned for anything between six months and two years after testing positive following the Europa League second round tie at Manchester United on March 17.

The test is understood to have revealed traces of a fat-burning substance which is considered a performance-enhacing substance.

Liverpool, who did not need the distraction ahead of the Europa League semi-final visit to Villarreal, have refused to comment on the defender’s decision.

On Saturday, when the news broke, the club said in a statement that Sakho had not been officially suspended but he would “not be available” for selection during the investigation.

Sakho, an £18m signing from Paris Saint-Germain in 2013, has played 34 games for Liverpool this season, including 10 in the Europa League.

His most recent for Liverpool was last Wednesday’s 4-0 win over local rivals Everton, during which the defender scored a rare goal for the Reds.

His team-mate Kolo Touré was handed a six-month ban by the Football Association for failing a drugs test in 2011 after he said he had taken his wife’s diet pills.

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