England's selectors had already resigned themselves to being without the injured Andrew Caddick, Marcus Trescothick and Alex Tudor.

But they were hopeful Gough would come through unscathed from his first championship appearance of the season for Yorkshire.

However, the right knee problems which have sidelined him for most of the season have returned.

Gough reported that he suffered "pain and stiffness".

He will make a visit to a specialist in Sheffield on Tuesday, but has already been ruled out of this week's Test at Lord's.

Chairman of selectors David Graveney said: "This latest setback is very disappointing news for Darren and for the team - everyone knows what an important member of the side he is and he will be sorely missed at Lord's.

"At this stage, we can't look too far ahead as to what the prognosis might be for the rest of the series and we'll simply have to wait and see what advice the specialist gives Darren and take it from there."

Uncapped Glamorgan fast bowler Simon Jones' chances of making his Test debut have unquestionably been increased by Gough's withdrawal, although Graveney and his fellow selectors are meeting to consider alternatives to the squad.

But at least there has been some good news for England after batsman John Crawley withdrew from the final day of Hampshire's match with India after reports he had contracted a virus.

Crawley failed to appear at the Rose Bowl, but Tim Tremlett, Hampshire's director of cricket, revealed: "We kept John out of the match more as a precaution than anything else. I think he may have picked up a bit of food poisoning, but he's not a doubt for the Test match."