Liverpool defender Kolo Toure has backed teammate Mamadou Sakho to come back stronger from his suspension pending a UEFA investigation into a potential anti-doping violation.
Sakho, 26, missed Liverpool's Europa League semifinal first leg defeat at Villarreal after it was revealed last weekend that he had tested positive for reportedly using a fat-burning substance.
The France international was removed from first-team duty by Liverpool as a result, and on Thursday he was suspended for 30 days by UEFA pending the results of a disciplinary investigation.
Toure, 35, took Sakho's place alongside Dejan Lovren in central defence for the Reds' 1-0 loss in Spain.
The Ivorian is well placed to know what Sakho is going through, having been banned for six months after failing a drugs test for using a weight loss pill while at Manchester City in 2011.
"I think it's very difficult to go through these types of periods but it's part of your career," Toure told beIN Sports after the Villarreal game.
"I've been through it. It allowed me to recharge my batteries and to focus even more.
"It's a time when he'll really have to try to analyse his career. I talk to him all the time about it -- I'm trying to help him.
"He's a very intelligent guy, so I'm not worried for him. He'll come back very strongly."