Gough in Doubt for Second Test

England's gamble on the fitness of Darren Gough backfired today when he was sent to the Academy in Adelaide to continue his rehabilitation from a long-standing knee problem.

Gough reported swelling and discomfort in his knee after bowling two separate spells in the nets yesterday and hopes he could return to lead the England attack in the second Ashes Test at the end of the month in Adelaide now seem to be fading.

The England coach, Duncan Fletcher, has already admitted that if Gough fails to make the starting line-up of the tour match against Australia A at Hobart on November 17, his chances of featuring in the remainder of the series are slim.

However, Fletcher is not yet ready to rule out his talisman and is hopeful the time spent at the Academy can help Gough overcome his latest setback.

"Darren's been making good progress in his recovery from injury and it's very frustrating for him and the team that he should suffer a setback at this stage," admitted Fletcher. "He's done everything we've asked in terms of conditioning and strengthening work and we were hoping he could play grade cricket this weekend, but our priority now is to ensure he gets intensive one-to-one treatment for his injury and expert medical advice.

"At this stage we can't put a time frame on Darren's recovery and we'll have to wait for further guidance from the specialist as to the extent of his involvement in the rest of the winter programme."

The Durham fast bowler, Steve Harmison, is suffering from shin splints, but will continue his treatment with the England squad, while Alex Tudor has been called up from the Academy to provide cover for England's depleted seam resources.

Gough had been making better than expected progress from his knee problems and England were hoping to fix him up with a match for Brisbane University next weekend with a view to him making his comeback in Hobart. Had he made it successfully through that match, he would have been in line for a recall in the second Test at Adelaide on November 21 - but today's news makes his participation even more unlikely.

"It's very disappointing as I felt I was nearly there with my recovery and ready to start playing again," said Gough.

"What I want to do is work hard at the Academy and give myself the best possible chance of getting myself fit again for the remainder of the winter."

Gough's chances of featuring in the rest of the tour will depend on the speed of his recovery because there are a limited number of opportunities to test his fitness again because of the intensity of the schedule.

After Hobart, England play back-to-back Tests in Adelaide and Perth followed by the start of their triangular one-day series with Australia and Sri Lanka and completed by the traditional back-to-back Tests in Melbourne and Sydney at Christmas and New Year.

Gough has not played a Test for England since the final meeting against Australia in August last year and, apart from 16 one-day internationals in the past 12 months, has played very little other cricket since first sustaining the injury in a one-day match against New Zealand in Dunedin on February 25.

England will be hoping Gough can make the same miraculous recovery at the Academy as Andrew Flintoff, who left the main squad to continue his rehabilitation from a hernia operation to join the Academy unable to run or bowl and was able to deliver 26 overs in the drawn match with Queensland on his return.