Andrew Flintoff is set for one last Test hurrah at The Oval after being given the green light for the Ashes decider.
All-rounder Flintoff, 31, saw specialist Andy Williams in London on Monday and received positive news about his troublesome right knee.
England coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss made the decision not to select Flintoff on the eve of the fourth npower Test at Headingley, concerned at his ability to last the course of five days.
As it happened the match did not even reach its halfway point as Australia cruelly exposed a weakened England team to level the series at 1-1.
But after Lancashire team-mate James Anderson was also passed fit for fifth Test selection following a hamstring twinge, an England statement read: ‘The advice received was that the swelling in his knee has significantly eased following the decision by the England management team to rest him from the last Test match and that subject to further rest and intensive treatment, he will be available for selection at the Brit Oval.’
Of Flintoff's Leeds omission, Flower conceded: ‘He wanted to play, he was desperate to play but he acknowledged that he wasn't fully fit and he was struggling a bit, so we couldn't play him under those circumstances.’
However, Flintoff's agent Andrew Chandler claims the Lancashire star was extremely low after being told he was not going to be picked last Thursday evening.
National selector Geoff Miller said: ‘We'd been monitoring his injury day by day and the selectors felt that it was better that he didn't play in that game.
‘Yes, he might have thought he was fit to do a certain job but we had to work out whether he'd be fit to do a constant job, meaning bowl the amount of overs required to get the 20 wickets.
‘We know that Freddie is passionate to play for England, I accept that, but there are a lot of other ideals we have to work to, such as taking medical advice.’
