Worcestershire release Simon Jones

Simon Jones faces an uncertain future as he tries to recover from his latest knee injury after Worcestershire announced they would not be offering him a new contract.

Jones has been ruled out for the season and was in the final year of his New Road deal, but had said he would like to remain with Worcestershire. However, the club have decided they can't commit to such an injury-prone cricketer and it remains to be seen how many other counties are interested.

"This has been a difficult decision but is in the best interests of the club going forward," said director of cricket Steve Rhodes. "We all admire the effort that Simon has put in to regain full fitness and we know he is determined to be fit for the 2010 season.

"However we are not in the position to offer him a new contract going forward so he is free to talk to any other County about his future. We want to thank Simon for his contribution to the club's success in 2008 and we really do hope that he can win his fitness battle and resume his career."

For a period last season it appeared Jones might have turned the corner following a struggle to regain fitness since the 2005 Ashes. He claimed 42 wickets at 18.02 and was named in England's preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy. However, his season ended prematurely with another injury and the 2009 campaign never got started.