Simon Jones out for the season

Simon Jones' future looks increasingly bleak after he was ruled out for the remainder of the season with his latest knee injury.

Earlier this week Jones had fluid drained from his left knee, but the results of his latest scans have delivered further bad news. Jones is out of contract at the end of this season and with such a long list of injuries it will be a brave county that offers him a deal. However, Worcestershire have said that at the moment the focus is on his recovery.

"Our medical team has advised us that recent scans have revealed, despite the successful regeneration of cartilage in Simon's left knee, the underlying bone will require a longer period for complete recovery," a club statement said. "During this time Simon will undertake further rehabilitation in his efforts to regain full fitness."

Steve Rhodes, the director of cricket, admitted it was another huge blow. "This is very disappointing news for both the club and for Simon himself," he said. "He has gone through so much work over the last year that we were all really hoping he would come through this. There will inevitably be speculation about Simon's future with the Club but I must stress that no decision has been made at this stage."

Jones has been dogged by injury since he was forced to miss the final Test of the 2005 Ashes series and he underwent surgery on his knee in April. At the time it was expected he would be able to play the second half of the summer, but now any comeback looks very doubtful.