Gough plays down rumours

Injured strike bowler Darren Gough denied on Thursday newspaper reports that he had been forced by the England management to play in Yorkshire8217;s county championship match against Lancashire against his wishes.

Gough withdrew from the England team for the first Test against India which started at Lord8217;s on Thursday after he hurt his right knee again in the Roses match. He has been ruled out of the first two Tests of the four-Test series.

8220;Despite what has been written in some newspapers, I have not had a row with the England team management about my knee injury, neither was I forced to play in the Roses match against my wishes,8221; Gough said in a statement released through the England and Wales Cricket Board. 8220;It8217;s an absolute nonsense to suggest that my knee injury has been misdiagnosed or that I was rushed into the Roses match ahead of schedule.8221; Gough, 31, hurt the knee in New Zealand in March and missed the just-concluded three-Test series against Sri Lanka, although he returned for the one-day triangular series with India and Sri Lanka.