Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho fails drugs test

Liverpool have sidelined defender Mamadou Sakho after being notified the French player is being investigated over a failed drugs test.

The alleged offence relates to Liverpool’s Europa League second-leg tie at Manchester United last month and is believed to concern a fat-burning substance.

Although the France international, 26, is not officially suspended, he will "not be available" for selection during the investigation, Liverpool said.

The player has until Tuesday to provide a B sample.

Sakho, an €23 million signing from Paris St-Germain in 2013, has played 34 games this season, including 10 in the Europa League.

He scored in Liverpool's 4-3 victory over Borussia Dortmund on 14 April which secured their place in the semi-finals.

Liverpool, who are seventh in the Premier League, host Newcastle at Anfield on Saturday.

Sakho's Liverpool team-mate Kolo Toure was banned for six months in 2011 while at Manchester City after testing positive for a weight-loss drug contained within "water tablets" recommended to him by his wife.

A similar ban for Sakho would rule him out of Euro 2016 in France, which starts on 10 June.