DARREN Gough was last night ordered to miss England's Ashes tour and the World Cup - or risk retirement.

Gough is still keen to play in this winter's series in Australia and the World Cup, despite facing a third knee operation in six months.

He will celebrate his 32nd birthday next month and could be jettisoned by an England team striving for fresh blood if he does not take part in his third Ashes series Down Under. However, with his right knee precluding him from playing for either country or county this summer, he has been told that rushing back for the Australia tour would put his career in jeopardy.

Philip Newton, director of the National Sports Injuries Centre at Lilleshall, said: "When you decide how long a player should spend getting fit, you must look at the patient's condition - not a sporting itinerary.

"The focus has to be on getting Darren's knee right rather than him making the start of the tour.

"There are a limited number of times that you want to have surgery on your knees.

"Darren should be experienced enough to know he has to decide on what's best for his body.

"A knee problem sometimes doesn't go away, even after surgery. He'll still be left with a knee that needs looking after.

"He's not a teenager any more. He'll have to take a long look at his training programme to reduce the risk of having more problems as he gets older."

Gough broke down in the Roses match last month, having come through four one-day internationals unscathed.

He underwent keyhole surgery yesterday after complaining of swelling and discomfort, nearly three weeks after he succumbed to injury against Lancashire.

The paceman, who spent some time at Lilleshall earlier this summer, will definitely miss the remainder of this season and next month's one-day tournament in Sri Lanka. But Gough's participation in England's extensive winter programme should also be ruled out, according to Newton.

He said: "Fast bowlers are more prone to injury than other cricketers because their action puts a lot of force on key areas - shoulder, lower back and knee.

"Usually, people are injured because of overuse, so a player will have been experiencing discomfort for a while before it became too painful to carry on. As you get older, you have to accept you're going to get injuries. This third operation is a worry for Darren, and he has to make sure he gets his rehabilitation exactly right and doesn't come back too soon.