IF Darren Gough's England career comes to a premature end then it could open the door to the Yorkshire captaincy.

England captain Nasser Hussain today hinted that Gough may not play any part in the Ashes series.

Gough has already been ruled out of the first Test which begins in Brisbane this week and has been sent to the Adelaide academy to receive intensive treatment on his knee injury.

Hussain stopped short of definitely ruling Gough out of England's attempt to regain the Ashes, but was more concerned with the Yorkshire fast bowler's long-term future.

"It's been going on for a year or so and Darren is very disappointed," said Hussain.

"We need to get him right. It sounds blas but I'm not worried about the Ashes as far as Darren goes now. I'm just worried about getting Darren back."

If he has not made it back in time for the third Test in Perth starting on November 29 then England will seriously be considering throwing in the towel with Gough and sending him back home.

And that could result in him either retiring from the first class game or, odd as it may seem, give him the incentive to push for the Yorkshire captaincy.

It is over 14 months since Gough last played Test cricket for England and at the age of 32 it is improbable that he will make a comeback if he does not figure in Australia this winter.

But if Gough is able to have a complete rest for the next few months he may then be strong enough to play regularly for Yorkshire - and the club are not due to choose next season's captain until March.

Before going to Australia, Gough told Yorkshire that he wanted to play out the remainder of his career with his native county and it was agreed to see how he went on this winter before discussing the terms of a new contract. Gough has made no secret of his wish to captain Yorkshire and the way would be open for him to throw his hat into the ring if free of England duties - provided, of course, that Yorkshire felt they could rely on his fitness.

Having been England's star bowler for so long, and the seventh most successful in the country's history with 228 Test victims to his name, it is unlikely that Gough could whip up much enthusiasm for returning solely to the Yorkshire ranks.

But he would undoubtedly relish the challenge of captaining Yorkshire and trying to win back much of the respect they earned after winning the Championship in 2001 - and then lost through being relegated last season.

It is most unlikely that this year's captain, Darren Lehmann, will be back at Headingley next summer, but Gough would not find himself without serious challengers to take over the captaincy from the Australian.

Richard Blakey did an excellent job in deputising for Lehmann during the latter part of the season when he led them to success in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy as well as guiding them to their two Championship victories.

Lehmann's fellow Australian, Matthew Elliott, who captains Victoria, must obviously be in the frame, and Anthony McGrath is also in with a shout after ably advising Blakey and having just signed a new three-year contract which guarantees his long-term future with the club.

England are likely to choose between Andrew Flintoff, against whom there are still injury doubts, and Yorkshire's Craig White for the all-rounder's spot.

Flintoff has only played one match since a hernia operation.

"That will be the main debate in the selection over the next few days," admitted Hussain today.

Australian paceman Jason Gillespie proved his fitness in the nets at Brisbane after overcoming a calf muscle injury.

Updated: 12:00 Tuesday, November 05, 2002