London, July 25:
England fast bowler
Darren Gough insisted Thursday he had not had a row with the
team management over the treatment of his knee injury.
Gough suffered a
recurrence of the problem while bowling for Yorkshire against
arch-rivals Lancashire last week where he barely managed to keep
going for two days.
He was ruled out of the
first two Tests of the four-match series against India which
started here at Lord's on Thursday.
Gough, 31, returned to
England colours in the one-day triangular series but according
to Wednesday's Yorkshire Evening Post he was told by his
specialist to miss the championship match against Lancashire.
However, in a statement
issued Thursday, Gough, who has not completed a first-class
match in 11 months, said: "Despite what has been written in some
newspapers, I have not had a row with the England team
management about my knee injury, neither was I forced to play in
the 'Roses match' against my wishes.
"After coming through
the C and G (Trophy) quarter-final match last week, my knee felt
OK and after talking to Nasser (Hussain, the England captain)
and Duncan (Fletcher) the England coach it was decided I would
play against Lancashire.
"To be honest, I wanted
to play in the Championship match for my own peace of mind as
much as anything. I needed to be 100 percent sure that I could
get through a four-day game rather than just a one-day game as I
had slight reservations about my ability to do so.
"It's absolute nonsense
to suggest that my knee injury has been misdiagnosed or that I
was rushed into the 'Roses match' ahead of schedule.
"I've had great support
from the medical team since I was injured and it's just
frustrating that I haven't yet been able to get back to full
fitness.
"Once the two weeks
rest period is up, I'm looking forward to getting back ino the
nets and hopefully playing cricket for Yorkshire. It will then
be up to me to prove to Nasser and Duncan that my body is ready
for a five-day Test match.
"That's my target for
this summer and everyone who knows me, knows that I've never
been one to shirk a challenge."
