TIME WASTERS

Manchester United are becoming increasingly concerned about the charges being prepared against Rio Ferdinand after the Football Association said it wanted longer to examine the evidence surrounding his missed drugs test last month.

An announcement was expected from the FA yesterday but it will not be made now until tomorrow at the earliest. Officials at Soho Square have emphasised that nothing sinister should be read into the delay but it is the second of its kind and is being perceived as possible bad news for Ferdinand, who was initially led to believe a decision would be taken towards the end of last week.

The FA is deliberating whether to charge the England and United defender with missing the test at United's training ground on September 23 or to charge him with the more serious offence of wilfully missing the test, something that carries a maximum two-year ban.

It was thought that, if Ferdinand were to face the less serious charge, the FA would have been in a position to announce as much by now.