The AFL is investigating whether a St Kilda AFL player took a banned substance after he provided an irregular sample this month.

Fairfax Media has named the player as small forward Ahmed Saad.

It was reported that the player claimed he took the substance unwittingly.

Saad, 23, has not played for the seniors since early July when he was in the Saints’ team which lost to Fremantle.

If Saad is charged, he would face an AFL Tribunal hearing.

Richmond’s Justin Charles and Hawthorn’s Travis Tuck are the only AFL players to be suspended over banned drugs.

Charles was suspended for 16 weeks in 1997 for testing positive to an anabolic steroid.

Tuck was banned for 12 weeks in 2010 for registering a third strike under the AFL’s illicit drugs policy.