Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola revealed that Riyad Mahrez was left out of the City squad for Sunday's victory over Liverpool due to fears over medicine provided by the Algerian team doctors.
Mahrez returned to Manchester on Friday, after guiding Algeria to Africa Cup of Nations success in July. However, Guardiola was forced to leave him out of the Community Shield squad through fears that he could have failed stringent doping rules.
Manchester City beat Liverpool on penalties in a thrilling Community Shield contest after the teams drew 1-1 in regular time.
Guardiola said (via BBC Sport:) "The doctors did not have exactly the medicines, Riyad called me just after being (crowned) champion with Algeria and said, 'I want to come back in 10 days, I want to play against Liverpool'.