Ferdinand left the hearing, held at the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) headquarters in Manchester, after talks with Steve Barrow, head of the FA's Compliance Unit.

The 24-year-old, who can expect to be hit with a misconduct charge which carries a maximum two-year ban, later issued a short statement.

It said: "Today in accordance with the FA's procedure and timetable I participated in an FA interview and provided the Association with a full and detailed explanation of my failure to take a random test on September 23.

"My explanation dealt with a number of issues including the reason why I failed to attend the test and my attempt to rectify the situation with a test that same day.

"I also reiterated my condemnation of drugs in sport."

A statement on the FA's website said no comment would be made by English football's governing body before Tuesday at the earliest.

Ferdinand was dropped from the squad for the national team's decisive Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey on Saturday on the orders of FA chief executive Mark Palios after he failed to show up for a drugs test at Manchester United's training ground.

The move prompted a week of off-field turmoil, with England's players threatening to strike if Ferdinand was not reinstated.

The crisis was averted when the FA made it clear they would not back down, but only after the players had issued a damning statement claiming they had been "let down" by their governing body.

Ferdinand, who has flatly denied using drugs, provided a sample, which was negative, 36 hours after doping control officers visited the United training ground.

PFA chairman Gordon Taylor, who had strongly criticised the FA for the way they handled the whole affair, said he hoped the governing body would reach a verdict "in a matter of days".