Willy Topp had to be pulled out of a City reserve game earlier this season after taking a tablet containing a banned substance.

Boss Stuart McCall revealed that the Chilean striker, who left the club on Monday, had swallowed a weight-loss pill used by body builders.

McCall said: “Somebody outside the club had given it to him and Billy didn’t know any better. But we looked into what was in the tablet and we couldn’t allow him into the ground for a couple of weeks.

“It wasn’t the kid’s fault and it seemed something totally innocuous. But if he’d got done by the drug testers, he could have been banned from playing for a year so we couldn’t run the risk.”

That episode was another example of Topp’s stop-start spell in England following his drawn-out £35,000 move from Universidad Catolica.

McCall also admitted that had he known in the first place that Topp’s South American club would demand a fee, he would have scuppered the deal.

But he was also led to believe that City could get the transfer fee back through the twinning agreement with Royal Racing Montegnee owner Paul Topping, who would take Topp off his hands if it didn’t work out.

McCall said: “I feel sorry for Billy because he’s a nice kid but through an unfortunate set of circumstances things didn’t work out.

“He tried to work with a smile on his face, even though it was difficult for him, and never gave us an ounce of trouble.

“We said it was a gamble but unfortunately it didn’t pay off and we all live and learn.”

Topp’s departure will allow McCall to go into the market for another striker when the transfer window re-opens.

He added: “It would be nice to have that competition of four main strikers and I’ve still got to speak to Barry (Conlon) about an extension. Billy’s wage has freed it up to bring someone else in next month.”

Meanwhile, midfielder Paul McLaren was back in training yesterday and hopes to be involved for the Dagenham game.