Graham Onions has been ruled out for the majority of the 2010 English season after failing to recover from an on-going bone stress reaction in his back.

Further scans on the problem area have confirmed that the Durham and England seamer will need to undergo a further period of rest and rehabilitation programme, which is expected to sideline him for up to 12 weeks.

He also underwent  surgery  to repair cartilage in the front of his left knee and the rehabilitation period required will be of a similar length to that prescribed for his injured back.

"I’m naturally incredibly disappointed to miss the bulk of the domestic season and am still hopeful that, with rest, I can be back on the field nearer to the end of the summer," said Onions.

"The ECB medical team has been very supportive and all I can do is be patient, work hard on my rehabilitation programme and focus on my number one goal which is to be fully fit and available for selection for the Ashes tour to Australia."