Next year’s FIFA World Cup in Russia has claimed its first casualty following the news that Peru captain and record scorer Paolo Guerrero will serve a 12-month ban.
The 33-year old striker tested positive for cocaine after the World Cup qualifier against Argentina on October 5 before he was provisionally suspended on November 3.
He has now been banned for one year and that effectively rules him out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia next summer.
The former Bayern Munich star is a key member of the Peru team and has scored 33 goals in 84 appearances but the latest development means he would miss his country’s first World Cup since 1982.
