Cricket: Jones set to sit out defence of Ashes; Welshman won't berushed.

Byline: By DAVID CLOUGH

ENGLAND will resist all temptation to rush fast bowler Simon Jones back from the knee surgery which is expected to rule him out of their Ashes plans.

Jones underwent keyhole surgery on his left knee in America on Wednesday and England have already made it clear he is rated "extremely unlikely" to be able to take part at all against Australia in Brisbane in November.

Chairman of selectors David Graveney said: "We have learned probably to our cost - as for instance in the last Ashes series in Australia - that there is nothing to be gained from bringing players back before the time is right."

England were beset by injuries before and during their 4-1 defeat down under in 2002-03 - notably to Andrew Flintoff and Darren Gough, neither of whom was able to play in any of the Test matches.

It is with such scenarios in mind that England will not be taking bad-percentage chances with 27-year-old Welshman Jones, who has fought his way back from a horrific injury in his other knee following a fall at the start of that same Ashes debacle four years ago.

Graveney added: "Obviously this is hard to take for him and anybody else who is involved in English cricket. There is always lots of specula tion about injuries, but our concern is that Simon makes a full recovery.

"Simon is a very fit young man and he has already recovered from one serious operation on his other knee. It is in England's interests and his that he is given time to do so again."

Jones took 18 wickets in four Ashes Tests last summer, earning a reputation as a reverse-swing expert as he regularly undermined Australia's middle order.

He missed only the final match at The Oval, with an ankle injury, but has played precious little cricket since - despite a tentative comeback for Glamorgan at the start of this summer.

ECB chief medical officer Peter Gregory confirmed: "At this stage, we do not expect Simon to be bowling for at least five months - which makes his participation in the Ashes extremely unlikely."

Meanwhile, surgery will be considered only as a last resort for Andrew Flintoff, whose ankle injury has ruled him out of England's 15-man squad for the NatWest Series.

However, Flintoff and Michael Vaughan can expect to be back soon after the conclusion of the five one-dayers against Sri Lanka.

England hope rest will do the trick as Flintoff seeks to rid himself of pain in the left ankle on which he had surgery 16 months ago.

Chief medical officer Gregory added: "During the third npower Test, Andrew Flintoff had scans on his painful left ankle. These revealed calcified deposits at the back of the ankle from which a bone spur was removed in February 2005.

"We have taken advice from two leading ankle surgeons who both agree that these may not be contributing to Andrew's symptoms and that surgery would cause more trauma and the potential for further calcified deposits.

"Hence, our view is that surgery is very much the last resort."

ENGLAND SQUAD: A Strauss (Middlesex, captain), I Bell (Warwickshire), T Bresnan (Yorks), G Chapple (Lancs), P Collingwood (Durham), A Cook (Essex), J Dalrymple (Middlesex), S Harmison (Durham), G Jones (Kent), E Joyce (Middlesex), A Loudon (Warwickshire), S Mahmood (Lancs), K Pietersen (Hamps), L Plunkett (Durham), M Trescothick (Somerset)

CAPTION(S):

Andrew Flintoff' Glamorgan fast bowler Simon Jones looks set to miss the Ashes this winter