The ECB have refused to comment on a report that Andrew Flintoff will undergo knee surgery after the Ashes series.

Flintoff, 31, is scheduled to be flying to Belfast next Tuesday with the England one-day squad, having been selected earlier this week.

But a report in the Daily Telegraph claims he will have a major operation which will keep him sidelined for nine months.

An ECB spokesman said: “We are making no further comment on his medical condition. We are leaving him to concentrate on the task at hand, which is on the field.

“As we have said previously an operation remains an option at the end of the series.

“He will be reassessed at the end of this current match.”

Flintoff is due to see specialist Andy Williams regarding his right knee in the near future, after being cleared to play in the Ashes finale at the Oval.

Lancashire all-rounder Flintoff missed the fourth Test defeat at Headingley due to a flaring of the problem, but is expected to play a full part in England’s attempts to defeat the Australians for a second successive home campaign.

Andrew Flintoff faces a potentially heavy limited-overs workload after being chosen in all three England squads.

England’s 15-man squad for both the NatWest Series against Australia and ICC Champions Trophy - which swiftly follows in South Africa - will be led by Andrew Strauss and contains just one uncapped player, Kent batsman Joe Denly.

As for England’s lynchpin all-rounder Flintoff, set to retire from Test cricket after this week’s Ashes decider because of a chronic injury to his right knee, a busy schedule appears in the offing.

While key batsman Kevin Pietersen’s omission confirms his continued absence as he recovers from surgery on an Achilles problem, Flintoff’s name appears in three separate squad lists.

His first assignment is as part of England’s 14-man party to travel to Belfast for a one-day international against Ireland, just three days after the conclusion of the decisive Ashes Test at The Oval.

That team will be captained by Paul Collingwood, in the rested Strauss’ absence, as will the 15 men chosen to face Australia in two Twenty20 internationals at Old Trafford.

After that, Flintoff and England face seven NatWest ODIs against Australia in just over two weeks - before flying out for the Champions Trophy.

Denly is a notable inclusion in all three squads - as are Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid, discarded Ashes batsman Ravi Bopara, wicketkeeper Matt Prior and Owais Shah.

But Jonathan Trott, called up in Bopara’s place for The Oval, makes only the Twenty20 reckoning - a batting replacement for Strauss - and there are no places at all for Test fast bowler Steve Harmison or batsman Ian Bell.

Alastair Cook, James Foster, Robert Key and Dimitri Mascarenhas are others who have failed to make the cut from the provisional 30-man Champions Trophy list.

National Selector Geoff Miller explained: “We have kept faith with the bulk of the squad which was successful in the NatWest Series against West Indies earlier this summer and also included two players, Luke Wright and Adil Rashid, who were part of our squad for the ICC World T20.

“Joe Denly has impressed the selectors for a while with some excellent performances in one-day cricket - and with Kevin Pietersen unavailable through injury, this is an excellent opportunity for Joe to step up to the next level and show what he is capable of.”

Miller confirmed the thinking behind identifying an opportunity to rest Test captain Strauss, who ruled himself out of England’s Twenty20 plans earlier this year.

“Andrew Strauss has led the side extremely well in both forms of cricket this summer,” he said.

“But the selectors felt it would be beneficial for him to have a short break from international cricket following the conclusion of the npower Ashes Test series, and Paul Collingwood will lead the side in Ireland and in the NatWest International Twenty20s.”

Marcus North wants Andrew Flintoff to be fit for the last two Ashes Tests so Australia can say they beat an England side at full strength.

North played a key role in preventing the hosts taking a 2-0 series lead with a determined 96 to force a draw in the third Test at Edgbaston.

England all-rounder Flintoff was visibly struggling with his troublesome right knee on the final day and his participation in the rest of the series is again under the spotlight.

North for one hopes Flintoff does play.

He said: “We want to play the best side we can play against when we play any other country.

“We have already seen the impact that Andrew Flintoff has had on this series. He had a quiet game with the ball but he had that explosive innings with the bat.

“We want to walk away, taking the Ashes back home, beating a full-strength England side.”

Andrew Strauss’ side still only hold a 1-0 lead going into the final two matches at Headingley in three days’ time and then at The Oval, and North is full of confidence that the tourists can now turn the series around.

“We know if we play our best cricket, we walk away winning Test matches against any opponent,” he added.

“We can take a lot of character and momentum and fight out of the Edgbaston match and hopefully that can set us up for the remaining two Tests.

“We all knew yesterday was going to be a tough day of Test cricket, one where the Australian team had to show some character and fight - and we did that.

“We saw England do that in the first Test at Cardiff. We went out then expecting to win and England showed character and fight on that day and got a draw.

“I firmly believe England went out yesterday believing they were going to win and we showed that fight and character and ground the game out.

“We lost nearly two days’ play through rain and at the end we were four wickets down with a 200-odd run lead - and building on that. We played some very good cricket in this last Test.”

Both sides have not been afraid to become involved in verbal exchanges and one report today claimed that Australian skipper Ricky Ponting kicked a dressing room door after being dismissed in the second innings.

But North believes it all serves to highlight what is at stake for both sides.

He said: “The banter on the pitch is great. Both teams are playing extremely hard Test cricket. We are playing for the urn. It is great to have a bit of banter.

“It gets both teams up. It is entertaining for the crowd and that is what Test cricket is about. It is about playing it hard and if you can get a little edge over your opposition with a bit of banter, that’s great.

“Equally, whenever any of us as batsmen get out, we don’t like getting out. It just shows how important it is to all of us.

“When we go and have an innings in Test cricket, we want to do well. You have to be disappointed when you get out.”

Andrew Flintoff needed two more injections and has been sleeping with an ice-pack around his right knee.

All the evidence suggests that the medical treatment is working and that the all-rounder will be ready to build on his man-of-the-match performance at Lord’s by taking on Australia again at Edgbaston in the third Test starting on Thursday.

An England team spokesman said that Flintoff was given a jab last Friday to lubricate his troublesome knee and received another dose of cortisone in the same area two days ago, ‘The Times’ reported.

Flintoff, who needed three injections before Lord’s, has also been wearing through the night a high-tech knee compression that is attached via tubing to a machine by his bedside that pumps water and ice around the joint to aid recovery.

“It gets in the way a little bit,” Flintoff said. “After the Lord’s Test my knee was a bit sore, but I have been icing it and getting treatment from Dave Roberts (the Lancashire physiotherapist). I bowled in some discomfort at Lord’s, but I still sent down my overs and got through.”

Although Flintoff sat out the game of football that precedes every practice, he was close to full pace on Tuesday when he bowled on the outfield afterwards under the supervision of Kirk Russell, the England physiotherapist.

Flintoff subsequently batted and bowled in the nets with a belt-and-braces approach to his knee, which was heavily strapped with crepe bandaging beneath a standard elasticated support.

England’s 2005 Ashes hero Andrew Flintoff gave dressing room a rallying cry following Australian domination of the second day.

After Australia captain Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich struck twin unbeaten hundreds to guide the tourists to 249 for one, a deficit of 186 runs, Flintoff reminded his colleagues of how England addressed a similar scenario four years ago.

Despite the Australians marching to an imposing 264 for one in the final Test at the Oval back then, England managed to secure a first-innings lead despite only posting 373 themselves.

Off-spinner Graeme Swann said, “They certainly have the momentum after the end of second day, but happily for us we still have a nigh-on 200-run lead. And as Fred said when we got into the changing room, for those who didn’t play at the Oval a few years ago, it was a very similar situation.

“It takes just one good spell to bring us right back into the game and that’s what we’re going to be thinking.”

Flintoff’s magnificent, marathon spell either side on the fourth day of that match helped stave off the threat of Australian victory and hours later England had secured a draw and claimed back the famous urn.

He proved England’s main menace with the ball and finished with five wickets, only his second in Test cricket. And fast-forwarding four years has not changed things.

Flintoff, 31, roughed up Australia’s new boy Phillip Hughes with a hostile introduction after lunch and dismissed him in the fourth over of his spell.

“We know with Freddie, he’s going to keep coming at you all day,” said Katich. “Whether it’s his first, second or third spell you know he going to come hard.

“England look to him for those breakthroughs when nothing is really happening.”

Australia finished with the upper hand but England threw some entertaining early blows with Swann’s unbeaten 47 from number 10 key to 99 runs being stacked up in 75 minutes this morning.

“It was a great start,” said Swann. “We talked about getting momentum and going into lunch we were pretty happy - when we came off at the end we weren’t quite as happy.

“Their score probably sums up the way we bowled because we didn’t put the ball in the right place often enough.

“We can whinge and moan about the ball going soft or the wicket being flat or Katich not being given out lbw to me when it was plumb but that’s the way of the game.

“It turned about as much as I expected it to. I’d heard it was going to turn square but I’ve played here before and I know the odd ball turns but the majority don’t and you have to work very hard for your wickets.

“We got a bit of false hope this morning when Nathan Hauritz got a few off the straight to turn down the leg-side and a couple out of the rough to go and it probably got us a bit too excited.”

Left-hander Katich had a frightful tour in 2005 but since being dumped as a result has returned to dramatic effect.

His struggles at number six back then have been a stark contrast to his return of six hundreds in 16 Tests as an opener.

“Batting at the top of the order has probably helped me,” he said. “When I did get my chance I jumped at it and I have gained confidence from each Test I have managed to string together.

“I have got a point to prove in this series and I know it will be a tough series.

“In the past 12 months I have felt I have a role to play in this team, given that we have lost so many players in the last couple of years, greats of Australian cricket.”

Click here for all the action as it unfolded

Another legend of the baggy green brigade Bobby Simpson has been Katich’s mentor in repairing his career.

“I am thankful to him for giving me the time of day,” Katich said. “His help and support has been enormous in getting me back to this stage. That technical help has turned me into a more confident player.

“Last time I was playing a lot differently to how I am playing now. I probably look the same but I have more confidence in hitting the ball straight.”

Ponting, who completed his 38th Test hundred from the penultimate delivery of the day, appeared in ominous mood.

“You can tell by the way he is going about his business,” said Katich. “He doesn’t have to say much.

“Those of us who went through what we did four years ago know how much it hurt.”

Andrew Flintoff has been selected for a surprise first-class comeback in Lancashire’s LV County Championship tie at Durham.

Hopes were raised that the 31-year-old England all-rounder could play a part, six weeks after he suffered a knee injury in the Indian Premier League, when Red Rose coach Peter Moores picked him in the squad to travel to Chester-le-Street.

However, Flintoff was widely expected to be held back for next week’s match against Hampshire at Liverpool.

Flintoff underwent knee surgery upon his return from the tournament in South Africa, but the hopes that he might be able to play in the current ICC World Twenty20 proved premature.

That raised fears that he might struggle to play a full part in the Ashes series which begins in Cardiff next month - although the Lancastrian insisted on Wednesday that he was “not an option”.

Flintoff’s spirits - and those of England fans everywhere - were raised over the last week when he was able to bowl and bat outdoors in public for the first time during breaks in play in his county’s match against Somerset at Old Trafford.

That prompted Moores to admit: “He has progressed really well. It’s all gone very well and probably better than some people expected in many ways.

“When he walks out onto that field it’s because everybody thinks it’s the right time.

“For Freddie’s sake he wants to come in fully fit, ready to play so he can go in there feeling protected enough to give it a real go.”

“It’s great to have him fit, so obviously he plays in our team. He’s looking forward to playing for Lancashire,” county captain Glen Chapple said.

“He had a couple of injuries last year as well so he’s really keen to go out and play cricket.

“If he’s fit, he gets in our best team - so he’s playing.”

Star England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has joined the growing list of Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni’s admirers.

Freddie said the wicketkeeper batsman is a very impressive leader both on and off the field.

Flintoff played under Dhoni for Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing Indian Premier League before a knee injury forced him out of action.

But the Englishman, the costliest player on the Twenty20 event’s roster along with teammate Kevin Pietersen, said he was mighty impressed with what he saw of Dhoni’s captaincy during his short stint with Chennai.

“Dhoni is very impressive both on and off the field. He is a very cool-headed guy,” Flintoff told PTI.

The talismanic all-rounder said injury might have cut short his IPL sojourn this time around but he was looking forward to be back next year.

“It is great to play in the presence of great players like (Australian) Matthew Hayden. I am looking forward to coming back next year,” he said.

Earlier, Hayden had also praised Dhoni’s captaincy.

“MS is a fantastic captain and player. MS gets some great power from unorthodox shots. He is a danger in this form, danger in any format really. When he is going he just strikes the ball as hard as anyone on the planet. And these small boundaries … He is just unstoppable,” Hayden had said.