Tudor In While Gough Takes Backward Step

Gough reported swelling and discomfort in his knee after bowling two separate spells in the nets on Sunday.

Hopes that 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.

Durham paceman 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.

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

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 the England coach.

"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."

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 the latest 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.