Flintoff facing further surgery

Lancashire all-rounder Flintoff has been battling with a troublesome knee injury throughout the summer and was ruled out of the fourth npower Test at Headingley.

"Andrew has shown great determination and selflessness making a conscious decision to push through discomfort in order to help the England team reclaim the Ashes," a statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board read. "This is in the knowledge that a further operation is a possibility."

Flintoff had injections in his right knee, which was operated on earlier this year after he injured it during his Indian Premier League stint with Chennai Super Kings, to get him through the second Test at Lord's and the drawn third Test at Edgbaston.

But with just three days between the final day at Edgbaston and the start of the fourth Test at Headingley, Flintoff was unable to persuade England's management he was fit enough to withstand the rigours of another match so soon.

England insist they have not treated Flintoff's injury with a succession of cortisone injections to mask the problems and have underlined their commitment to considering his long-term health.

"In order to give Andrew a chance of playing in the second and third Tests, he received a series of artificial synovial fluid injections into the knee joint and cortisone injections into some of the bursa on the outside of the knee joint to help settle the inflammation," the statement added.

"Andrew is still very keen to play in the fifth Test at The Oval and a decision on this will be made in due course.

"He will not be exposed to undue risk or masking injections and any decision regarding his participation in the fifth Test will be made in conjunction with the ECB, his surgeon and the Lancashire medical team."