England today played down Andrew Flintoff's absence from the attack in the second Ashes Test following an ankle injury scare.

The Lancashire star suffered discomfort in his troublesome left ankle and bowled only four overs on the fourth day at the Adelaide Oval despite his side battling nearly all day to finally dismiss Australia for 513 to gain a 38-run first innings lead.

It prompted speculation he may be suffering a recurrence of the ankle problems which forced him into a second operation mid-summer and sidelined him for the second half of the season after bowling 35 overs in the first Test and 26 more in this.

But coach Duncan Fletcher insisted Flintoff's short spell, which was delivered before lunch, and his failure to return to the attack was not an indication of a a serious setback and confirmed that medical staff were not worried about his fitness.

Fletcher said: "He just felt a slight discomfort there and he just wanted to make sure everything was all right.

"He came off and we just felt more comfortable with the other bowlers bowling.

"Andrew has played back-to-back Tests and he's done quite a bit of bowling and he's played quite a bit of cricket.

"There are no worries at the moment, but we're going to have to wait and see over the next couple of days."

Fletcher added: "From the advice we've been given we're not even going to send him for a scan at this stage - they feel it's just having over-bowled in back-to-back Tests.

"He's had this problem in the past, but the medical staff are pretty confident at the moment.

"He could have bowled today and there was a good chance he was going to take the new ball with (Steve) Harmison and was going back on to take it with (Glenn) McGrath and (Brett) Lee at the crease."