No immediate ban for Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand will be available for Manchester United’s Christmas programme even if he is banned over his failure to take a drugs test.

Ferdinand is due at Bolton’s Reebok Stadium today for the start of a two-day Football Association misconduct hearing at which he is likely to argue that his offer to return to United’s Carrington training ground to take the test on September 23 was rejected by UK Sport doping officials.

The 25-year-old central defender is set to claim he merely ‘forgot’ to take the test and was on a shopping trip in central Manchester with former West Ham team-mate Eyal Berkovic when he received a call from United doctor Mike Stone asking where he was.

Under FA regulations, Ferdinand faces a maximum two-year suspension from the game, although most observers believe a three-month ban will eventually be imposed by Barry Bright, who will chair the three-man disciplinary panel.

However, any suspension would not begin until after the 14-day period Ferdinand will have to lodge an appeal, clearing him to face Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Sunday, plus the following league games against Everton and Middlesbrough.