Darren Gough will be out of action for at least another fortnight after breaking down in the Roses match and then pulling out of the first Test against India which begins on Thursday.

And after being told of the news England contacted Yorkshire coach Wayne Clark to check on the form of Ryan Sidebottom and Chris Silverwood as possible replacement.

Sidebottom made his Test debut against Pakistan at Lord's last summer and could be favourite to receive the call.

Gough did not take the field against Lancashire at Headingley yesterday and said: "I suppose some people will say that my Test career is finished but it is nothing of the sort.

"When I saw my specialist in Sheffield last week he advised me to take a couple of weeks rest following the NatWest Series but England were anxious to test me out and that is why I played in the Roses game

"I felt great when I bowled on the first day but when I resumed on Sunday I knew the knee was not right and it got gradually worse.

"Now I need to go through a period of doing knee strengthening exercises before playing again but it is all part of the healing process and I am not worried by it."

All-rounder Gary Fellows has won back his place in Yorkshire's Championship team for the match against Surrey which begins at Guildford tomorrow.

The County Champions remain embedded to the foot of the table and they face a hard task in trying to gain their first win of the season at the expense of Surrey who lead the pack and are favourites to steal Yorkshire's crown, particularly after their spectacular win over Kent yesterday.

As well as being without their England men, Yorkshire's fast bowling options have been further hit because Steven Kirby is still not fully fit after his back trouble.

Bradford-born fast bowler David Wigley is included in the squad for Guildford but will probably be 12th man - unless further emergencies crop up.

On the field of play yesterday Lancashire were on the brink of what would have been a sensational victory in the Roses match at Headingley after the Red Rose side had been in danger of following on earlier in the day.

The game ended in stalemate when bad light stopped play with a possible 15 overs remaining but by then Yorkshire had just about got themselves out of a dreadful mess.

The dismissal of Michael Lumb at 4.30pm left Yorkshire tottering on 73 for seven with an overall lead of only 110 and if the tail had not wagged then Lancashire could have been in for the kill.

Richard Blakey and Chris Silverwood came to the rescue with an unbroken stand of 51 for the eighth wicket to snuff out Lancashire's chances but Yorkshire emerged from the match with little credit and the 11 points they took from the game did nothing to improve their position at the foot of the table.

They are still searching for their first win of the season.