Flintoff sent away for treatment as England's injury worries mount

England have sent their injured all-rounder Andrew Flintoff to Australia's National Cricket Academy in Adelaide to continue his rehabilitation from a hernia operation in a quest to make him match fit for the opening Ashes Test against the Australians.

Flintoff is behind schedule in his rehabilitation from the surgery which forced him to miss the final Test against India last summer, Michael Vaughan is still recovering from a knee operation while Darren Gough is making progress after also having a lengthy lay-off with knee problems. All this has placed too great a burden on the tourists' physiotherapist Kirk Russell, prompting England's management to fly Flintoff to Adelaide to work under the Academy's medical staff in an attempt to make him available for the opening Test in Brisbane, starting on 7 November.

The England coach, Duncan Fletcher, said: "Although Andrew's recovery programme is running behind schedule at present, we remain confident that he will be able to take part in the Ashes series. However, our physio Kirk Russell has a heavy workload at present due to the number of injuries in the squad and we feel that the medical team at the Academy are best placed to give Andrew the intensive one-to-one treatment he needs."

England are yet to decide whether a replacement is needed for Flintoff with the senior squad, but if he fails to recover for the start of the Test series they may consider calling up the Yorkshire all-rounder Craig White to balance the side.

England slumped to a miserable 58-run defeat by an ACB Chairman's XI in the opening match of the tour at Lilac Hill here. Steve Harmison, the Durham pace bowler, sent down one astonishing over which lasted 14 balls and contained seven successive wides. Harmison, who was suffering from dizziness, delivered 16 wides in total.

England's next game is at the WACA here tomorrow, where they play Western Australia in a two-day match.