London:Injured captain Michael Vaughan warned he is confident England can retain the Ashes with or without him this winter.

The 31-year-old, who led England to their first Ashes win for 18 years last summer, insisted however he has not yet given up hope of taking part in the series against Australia starting in November.

"I'm very confident in whoever leads the team to produce a fantastic winter ahead and make sure we retain the Ashes," Vaughan told Sky Sports News on Friday.

"There is always a slight worry it will take time to adjust to international cricket but the guys who have come in have done really well.

"You need that bit of luck but if you work hard you get that. The team will do everything in their power to try to emulate last summer.

"It is going to be a fantastic series. If we can emulate anything like the series last year it should be a great spectacle."

Vaughan has not played for England since the series in Pakistan before Christmas due to his injury problems.

By the time he returns he could have missed at least a year of international cricket but the Yorkshire batsman is pushing to get back to fitness as soon as possible.

"I am determined to get back on a cricket pitch sooner rather than later. If that is December or January, or if not I've got to be patient," he said.

"But I'm determined to make sure that does happen. I'm training for a number of hours each week to make sure that does happen."

Tags: australia, army greens, white cricket clothing, ashes in the queensland, twenty-five players, captain ricky ponting, beerwah state forest, reg dickason, coach john buchanan.