Fury posted several videos online yesterday showing him training in his gym in Morecambe, some 200 miles from where the hearing into a negative drugs test was getting underway.

Reports erupted that Fury was jeopardising his return to the ring, for which he does not yet have a licence because of the unresolved matter, but the boxer’s management company Hennessy Sports have today clarified the issue.

“To be clear Tyson Fury was not required to be at the UKAD hearing yesterday,” a tweet from their official account read.

Express Sport understands evidence can be submitted in written form and that lawyers representing each party would have been sufficient presence to start the hearing.

However, it is not clear whether Fury will be required to attend the hearing, which is expected to last around five days, later in the week.

But the former heavyweight champion is desperate to return to the ring, having not fought since beating Wladimir Klitschko more than two years ago, and has urged the UKAD panel to clear his name.

“Hopefully they will do the right thing,” Fury told Sky Sports.

“I want to get back out there.

“I know what the outcome should be.

"End of April, early May.

“I will be ready by that time, fit and strong.

“The training plan is set up, so I will be ready by then."

Fury has been chasing fights against the biggest names in the game including Anthony Joshua, Joseph Parker and Deontay Wilder.

However, a social media feud with Tony Bellew recently erupted, although Fury himself would not confirm that he was targeting the Liverpudlian as his first opponent.

"What [Bellew] says is what he says,” Fury added.

“Let's hope it is a serious threat.

“I would like to see what he can do, to be honest.

“I know what I can do to him."