FIVE-TIME Olympic swimming gold medallist Ian Thorpe is in rehab after being found disoriented in the street by police.

The Australian was affected by a combination of anti-depressants and the painkillers he was taking for a shoulder injury, according to his manager, James Erskine.

Police spoke to Thorpe after residents living near his parents' home in Panania, Sydney, reported a man allegedly breaking into a van yesterday.

He was taken to Sydney's Bankstown Hospital for assessment and later transferred to a rehab facility.

Mr Erskine said: "He is in rehab for depression."

He said Thorpe thought he was sitting in his friend's car.

Mr Erskine said Thorpe, 31, had been taking anti-depressants and medication for his shoulder but had not been drinking alcohol.

Thorpe, who lives in Switzerland, had been staying with his parents.