The Bianconeri insist Cannavaro's adverse test result was due to an injection following an insect sting last August which could have been fatal had the club's medical team not intervened.

CONI revealed an anonymous athlete was under investigation in a statement and Juventus have responded with their own statement.

A statement on the club's official website, www.juventus.com read: "With regards to the news of the launch of an investigation by the Procura Antidoping (CONI) involving player Fabio Cannavaro, the medical division of Juventus state that they acted within the sanitary prescriptions and the deontological rules, intervening in an urgent manner - last August - following the worsening of the clinical condition following the sting by an insect.

"On that occasion a medical remedy which was indispensable in order to prevent eventual complications, even lethal ones, was used.

"The player and the medical staff of Juventus will be at the disposal of the Procura to clarify this issue as soon as possible, as well as eventual documentation."