Hulk lost 6kg in one game and had to drink 30 litres of water to give urine sample

The Selecao forward, officially called Givanildo Vieira de Sousa, discussed the incident that took place after a terrible night where his Atletico Mineiro side were knocked out of the Copa do Brasil by David Luiz' Flamengo.

Mineiro lost 2-0 on the night, and 3-2 on aggregate, but a night from hell had only just begun for the 35-year-old.

Reports claim the former Zenit St. Petersburg star missed his teammates leaving Rio de Janeiro for Belo Horizonte and was stuck at the famous Maracana until 3.50 in the morning.

The reason for the wait was a rather unusual one though, with Hulk unable to produce a urine sample for doping control.

He later explained to Globo Esporte: "Since I arrived at Atletico, that was the game in which I was most dehydrated. I lost six kilos today.

"It was tiring [doping control]. I was tired. I started [the game] with 97 kg, finished with 91 kg. I fell on anti-doping. I stayed there for four hours, drank 30 litres of water.

"But it was difficult to urinate. It worked. Now it's time to go home."

Last year medical staff from Mineiro explained why Hulk loses so much weight during matches, all because of sweating.

"He sweats a lot, that doesn't mean he is bad," physio Roberto Chiari told TV Galo.

"In fact, the athlete who sweats a lot uses the most efficient mechanism of dissipating body heat, which is through sweating.

"This sweat, when it evaporates, allows the athlete to lose body heat in a more efficient way. So, losing many pounds by dehydrating through sweating is not the problem.

"It just requires that we pay extra attention to hydration.

"Our masseuse, who is next to the field, already knows that at each stop in training the first player who has to receive water or isotonic is the Hulk, because he will dehydrate a lot."

Hulk only returned to Brazil last year after first leaving his home country for Kawasaki Frontale in 2005.

Things had been going so well for the powerhouse forward that he returned to Tite's national squad for Brazil's 2022 World Cup qualifiers last year, ending a five-year absence.

If he is to appear at this year's tournament in Qatar though, Brazil may well have to impose a hose pipe ban.