Russell: Waiting for ban is hugely stressful
West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell has spoken about his potential two year ban for allegedly missing three doping tests, saying it has weighed on his mind constantly since the news broke in March.
Russell is being investigated by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission, who allege that he missed three random doping tests in the relevant 12-month period.
Athletes are required by WADA to be available for these spot checks, and if they don't notify their local doping authority of their location, then they can be taken to task.
But Russell's lawyer, Patrick Foster, says, according to the Jamaica Gleaner, that Russell only ever got two notifications that he'd missed a test, not three, and has thus not fallen foul of the 'whereabouts' rule.
When asked about the matter this week, Russell, who is playing for the Tallawahs in the CPL, said: "It's not easy, honestly, it's tough.
"When I cross the rope, I definitely block it off my head but then when you go back to your room and you know you have to face reality and know that something is going on like that, it's kind of stressing and depressing.
"But I have an amazing bunch of guys around me. So they keep me occupied, they keep me laughing. I just think that is a very good thing to do while going through something like that.
"Everything is in place. My lawyers are doing whatever they have to do so I don't really want to have to talk about it that much."
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