The medical court hearing on British Cycling and Team Sky's former doctor Richard Freeman, which was postponed earlier this year, has been rescheduled to take place between October 28 and December 20.

Freeman, who is facing allegations of misconduct, including doping, did not attend the hearing when the court first met in Manchester in February. His lawyers quickly secured a 48-hour recess, and after the court resumed in private for preliminary legal arguments, a longer recess was issued and the hearing was rescheduled.

On Tuesday, a new date for the hearing was fixed.

Freeman, who worked for both British Cycling (the national cycling federation) and Team Sky (the professional team now known as Team Ineos) between 2009 and 2015, was called to the medical tribunal to answer a case brought by the General Medical Council (GMC). He was summoned.

The GMC is the regulatory body governing the medical profession in the UK, and Freeman could be stripped of his right to practice medicine.

The GMC's case centers on the delivery of 30 bags of testosterone gel to Freeman at the headquarters of Team Sky and British Cycling in Manchester in June 2011. Freeman's motive for ordering them was allegedly "to administer them to athletes to improve their athletic performance. Since testosterone is banned both in and out of competition under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, if the GMC can substantiate the allegations, it could have explosive consequences for British Cycling and Team Ineos.

In court, Freeman's previous explanations will be tested. Steve Peters, former head of pharmaceuticals and head of Sky and British Cycling, claimed that Freeman told him the parcel was sent by mistake and returned to the supplier; during a 2017 British Anti-Doping investigation, Freeman later claimed that the testosterone was for use by non-athletes. claimed that it was intended for use by non-athletes.

"Furthermore, the motivation for Dr. Freeman's actions [...] . is alleged to have been to conceal the motive for ordering it," reads the court's case summary.

UKAD, which handed over evidence to the GMC after it was forced to close its investigation into the so-called "jiffy bag" doping allegations concerning Bradley Wiggins, is poised to launch legal proceedings if the doping allegations are substantiated by the tribunal. the WADA statute of limitations is 10 years, up from 2015 upgraded from eight years in 2015, which means that UKAD has until 2021 to file charges.

More generally, the court will examine allegations that Freeman "improperly" provided treatment to non-athlete staff, "improperly" administered prescription-only medications, and "failed to inform the GPs of three patients of the prescribed medication and the reasons for it." Team Sky boss and former British Cycling performance director Dave Brailsford admitted that Freeman injected triamcinolone.

The tribunal will also assess Freeman's record keeping, which came under intense scrutiny in the UKAD investigation and the parliamentary inquiry. In particular, a laptop containing the records of a mysterious "jiffy bag" delivered from British Cycling headquarters to a Team Sky bus at the 2011 Criterium du Dauphiné was stolen in August 2014, the contents of which were never backed up.

Freeman will not be required to attend the court hearing, but will in any event be represented by Mary O'Rourke, a QC with distinguished experience in sports and medicine. It is unclear why the initial hearing was postponed, but legal arguments were held behind closed doors and may be made for health reasons or under exceptional circumstances that outweigh public interest.

It is well known that Freeman suffers from mental health issues, including severe depression and suicidal thoughts, and was unable to provide direct evidence in the 2017 UK Parliamentary Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee investigation into doping in sport The committee was unable to provide any direct evidence. He also gave written evidence to the UK Anti-Doping Inquiry and recently withdrew from appearing before an employment tribunal for British track athlete Jess Burnish.