FROM the comfiest seat in the house, Paul Collingwood surveyed the sun-kissed Riverside - and rued his bad luck.

"It'd be great if I could sit here and drink beer all day," the Durham all-rounder smiled.

"But I'm sure people wouldn't be too happy if they saw an injured player knocking back beer.

"Darren Gough did it last year - and he got into a lot of trouble."

With that, Collingwood cracked open a bottle of Lucozade - while enviously eyeing his beer-swilling friends.

The England one-day star nursed his dislocated shoulder yesterday on the npower couch - surely the best place from which to watch Durham's first Test.

Certainly, Colly's pals were enjoying the free lager laid on for them as he stuck to the soft stuff.

Given an even break this summer, Collingwood could have been playing for England in this historic Test match.

But he is unlikely to return to first-class cricket until August after injuring himself in a pre-season friendly almost two months ago.

Collingwood confessed: "This was going to be a huge year for me; instead, it's probably the most frustrating time I've had as a cricketer.

"I had a neck injury last year and that was hard to take, but this was a freak accident.

"I was looking forward to the challenge ahead and then this came along. It's hugely disappointing.

"I think August is the benchmark for my recovery. If I can get back quicker, it would be fantastic. But it's going to take a long time.

"I saw the surgeon the other day and he said it would be another six weeks before I can even move it 100 per cent.

"That's even before I can get into the gym and get on the weights. It's going to be a long process, though to be fair that's what the surgeon has said all along.

"Whenever we're doing well at Durham, for some reason something spoils the party.

"We've already swapped dressing rooms, and it's even been said that we could build a new dressing room to try to end our run of bad luck!

"It seems to be the experienced guys like myself, Dewald Pretorius and Matrin Love - the ones who need to help the youngsters - who are getting injured.

"We have some fantastic young talent, but at the moment they're being exposed too much.

"It would be better for them if they could be brought along gradually, but hopefully they will benefit from it in the long run."