England team director Andy Flower feels that his team could win the Ashes even without Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff even as speculation mounted over the pair's fitness for the rest of the series against Australia.
Both players will be assessed by medical staff this week - Pietersen has Achilles tendon trouble, Flintoff a sore right knee - as England prepare for next week's third Test at Edgbaston.
Asked whether England could beat Australia for only the second time since 1986-87 if Pietersen and Flintoff were unavailable, Flower said: "Definitely. When asked before the series whether we believed we could win the series, I said yes. Whether we will or not, we don't know. We're going to have to play very good cricket."
Flower insisted that Pietersen had not yet ruled himself out.
"Definitely not. It's a medical decision that's got to be made. Kevin is seeing a specialist later this week and they'll assess his Achilles problem. We just get the expert advice and take it from there," Flower was quoted as saying in The Guardian wednesday.
"Fred (Flintoff) obviously had a tough physical game but I chatted with him yesterday afternoon and he was very bullish about being ready for the third Test. Obviously with his injury record we've got to be a little bit careful about the wear and tear on his body but he can have a proper rest over the next week and he will also be reassessed."
Flower, who will help pick the third Test squad, to be announced Sunday, did his best to play down the seriousness of Flintoff's absence. "If he's out of the side, of course that's a blow," he said.
"But we've got a few fast bowlers waiting in the wings who can be successful in international cricket. Obviously we want Flintoff in our side but we will see if his body's up to it. If not there are other guys who can do a good job. His contribution in the Lord's Test gave us the belief that we'd bowl them out."