ECB chairman of selectors insists Vaughan's career not in jeopardy

London, July 7 (UNI) As uncertainty looms large over Michael Vaughan's future, England's chairman of selectors David Graveney once again insisted that the regular skipper's career was not at risk despite undergoing a second knee surgery, which has ruled him out for at least six months.

Vaughan is set to miss his team's Ashes defence Down Under in november as he undergoes rehabilitation for the knee surgery, which has been troubling him since last year.

''There's no suggestion that Michael Vaughan's career is under major threat. The Ashes were always going to be a close call,'' Graveney told BBC five Live here.

His comments come after Vaughan was advised to have a slow rehabilitation to avoid any long-term damage to his troubled right knee and get him fit in time for the World Cup in March next year.

''Michael has been ruled out of the Ashes Test series and will be targeting a return to cricket early in 2007 with a view to being available for selection for the World Cup, a statement issued by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said yesterday.

Meanwhile, Vaughan's county club Yorkshire's chief executive Stewart Regan also echoed Graveney's views and insisted that the regular cptain was strong enough to come out of the situation and return to the side.

''He's in a very positive state of mind and has talked about starting his training in two or three months time,'' Regan told BBC.

''I think he'll use the next few months to get himself really fit and we look forward to welcoming him back for Yorkshire next season,'' he added.

Regan, however, admitted that the injury to the batsman has turned out to be worse than expected initially but expressed confidence that Vaughan would not take as long as is being suggested to recover from it.

''There's always going to be speculation whenever a high-profile sportsman undertakes an operation like this. But the surgery has revealed an injury which is worse than was anticipated and fortunately that's now been put right,'' he said.

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