The Football Association are expected to formally charge Rio Ferdinand tomorrow over his failure to attend a drugs test.
The Manchester United defender is certain to face at least one charge and investigations by the FA's compliance team over the last three weeks have made it increasingly likely that he could also face a more severe allegation of deliberately missing the anti-doping test.
Ferdinand can have no defence against the straightforward charge of `failure to attend an anti-doping test' - he has already claimed he forgot, which is not allowed as an excuse.
However sources close to the 24-year-old insist that when he does appear before a disciplinary hearing he will vigorously contest any suggestion that he deliberately or wilfully avoided the test.
English football's most expensive player missed the test at United's Carrington training ground on September 23rd, and as a consequence was omitted from England's squad that played against Turkey.
Since then, the FA have been investigating the case and even asked for the player's mobile phone records to judge if he had been, as he claimed, out of contact in the two hours after leaving the training ground. Ferdinand and United are resigned to the fact that a charge and hearing is inevitable.
Plans have already been put in place for United's experienced lawyers James Chapman to represent Ferdinand when he appears before the disciplinary panel. The footballing world will be watching the outcome of proceedings carefully - the case was even discussed by FIFA's medical committee today although no conclusions were reached.
Meanwhile, Paul Scholes will be out for up to four weeks after undergoing surgery today on his troublesome groin problem.
The United midfielder had an operation this morning on both groins but the condition is not a hernia.
A club spokesman said: "Paul Scholes' groin problem has re-occurred and he has had to have surgery this morning to both groins. He is likely to be out for three to four weeks."
Scholes was plagued by the problem earlier this season and thought he had got over it but it has flared up again.
Scholes will probably miss England's friendly with Denmark at Old Trafford on November 16th as a result of the operation.