Gough Injury Gloom Deepens

Nasser Hussain insisted yesterday that England would continue to monitor Darren Gough's rehabilitation from a knee injury after it was confirmed that the Yorkshire fast bowler would not be returning to the Test side until at best the third match of the four-match series against India, which begins at Lord's this morning.

Gough, who saw his specialist Derek Bickerstaff in Sheffield on Monday, has been advised to rest his right knee for two weeks to allow inflammation to subside. He played in the weekend's Roses match at Headingley, his only first-class match since last summer, and suffered a reaction that forced him to withdraw from the Lord's squad, with Glamorgan's Simon Jones now expected to make a Test debut in his place.

A scan revealed no further damage to the knee, which has undergone two operations, and after seeing the specialist again in a fortnight Gough hopes to resume full training and start in Yorkshire's match against Warwickshire in Leeds on August 7.

Hussain denied that the England management were at loggerheads with Gough over the decision to play him in the Lancashire match to prove his fitness.

"It is quite simple," said the England captain. "There is no conflict between us and Darren. None. He made himself available for the one-day series and he was looked after throughout that. As a result he said he wanted to play in the first Test. But you have to remember that he hasn't played in a first-class match for almost a year now. So we said, OK, if you want to play in the Test you have to go away and prove you can bowl two or three days running.

"From our point of view we could not risk him without that reassurance. What happened to him subsequently could have happened here on Monday, or in the second Test or the third or in Australia. It is why I spoke to him after the C&G quarter-final match at Essex last week. He said: 'Fine, I'll play in the Roses match; I'll have it strapped a different way and I'll give it a go'."

Although hopeful that Gough would prove his fitness, Hussain said the England management could not risk their leading strike bowler being below par for this series.

"I was not altogether surprised to see that he couldn't make it through. It was unfortunate but at least it was better than sitting here before the match wondering whether to risk him and then having him rocking up on Friday, saying 'I'm sorry, it's gone again'."

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