England cricket captain Michael Vaughan will be out for up to six months after undergoing another knee operation, dealing the team's hopes of defending the Ashes later this year a major blow.
Vaughan will have surgery -- for the second time inside seven months -- to repair damage to the articular cartilage in his right knee on Monday.
"Michael has still been experiencing some discomfort in the knee and further surgery is necessary if he is to regain the level of fitness required for international cricket," the England team's doctor, Peter Gregory, said on Thursday.
"Our priority now is to safeguard Michael's long-term interests and ensure that he can resume his playing career," he said.
Vaughan, who had knee surgery in December after pulling out of England's tour to Pakistan, then had to withdraw from the series in India in February. Andrew Flintoff took over the captaincy.
The first Ashes test will be played in Brisbane on Nov. 23, and the fifth beginning Jan. 2 in Sydney.
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