The high-profile medical tribunal of former Team Sky and British Cycling doctor Richard Freeman has been adjourned until 9.30am on Friday after he failed to appear on Wednesday, the scheduled opening day.

Freeman is facing misconduct charges brought by the General Medical Council (GMC) at an independent tribunal in Manchester. He is accused, amongst other things, of purchasing testosterone in 2011 with the intention to dope a rider.

On arriving, Freeman's QC Mary O’Rourke - who has represented other high-profile clients in the past including the former Chelsea doctor, Eva Carneiro, and a doctor in the Baby P case - immediately requested privacy for an application for an adjournment of 48 hours.

Medical practioners' tribunals are held in public but certain parts can be heard in private, either on health grounds, or in exceptional circumstances which outweigh the public interest.

It was unclear on what grounds the adjournment was requested but Freeman has suffered with health problems in the past. He failed to turn up when called to a parliamentary select committee hearing in 2017, on grounds of ill health. He provided his evidence in writing to UK Anti-Doping’s investigation into a mysterious jiffy-bag.