"I feel fine, the pain was from a trapped nerve. I've had an injection and I'm fit to play," he told reporters after 20 minutes in the nets.

"It was sore yesterday when it happened, the x-ray showed no break. I'm fully fit," said Vaughan, taken to hospital on Tuesday, after being hit on the right elbow while batting in the nets against uncapped seamer Chris Tremlett.

"It's a bit bruised but when a ball hits you like that you are bound to be a bit bruised.

"The nerve was causing me a lot of pain but once I had it x-rayed and had a jab it was fine.

"When you first feel that kind of pain and are struggling to lift your arm you do fear the worst. It wasn't just going to be missing one Test, if it had been a break it would have been a long while.

"A lot of emotions go through yourself. It's a great feeling when you get the scans back and there's no break. It's amazing what jabs can do for you. It's great to be fit for the Test match."

The Yorkshire batsman began his net session Wednesday with gentle throwdowns from England coach Duncan Fletcher before facing spin from Ashley Giles and Kevin Pietersen.

The only moment of discomfort was when he was hit on the right hand by a rising delivery from leading England fast bowler Stephen Harmison.

Vaughan grimaced and two balls later came out of the nets. However, asked if that was anything serious, he replied: "No, not at all.

England's batting was disappointing in last month's 239-run first Test defeat at Lord's, where they were twice dismissed for under 200 after themselves bowling Australia out for 190 in the first innings.

Vaughan, occupying the important number three position, managed just seven runs in the game.

And the Australians remain convinced that Glenn McGrath, who wrecked England's top order with five quick wickets in the first innings and finished with match figures of nine for 82, has got Vaughan's number.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting, speaking before his counterpart's injury, said: "Glenn puts the ball in the same areas every time and just asks the batsman a question every time.

"He puts the ball in and around the off stump every time and asks the batsmen 'am I going to play it?, am I going to leave it?, am I going to drive it?, am I going to defend it?' - those sort of questions - and Michael has got lots of pretty big initial movements and the way Glenn bowls fits in well to combat those movements.

"If Glenn is not on when Michael comes to the crease, he won't be far away from coming back on," added Ponting, who acknowledged Vaughan's skill in scoring three centuries during the 2002-03 Ashes in Australia.

But following a week away from international duty, which included one-to-one coaching sessions with Fletcher and a century for Yorkshire in a limited-over match, Vaughan was in confident mood.

"But I've had a lot of success against him in the past and I've played reasonably well against him in a couple of the one-day games. He's a good bowler but I'm looking forward to facing him again this week."

England added all-rounder Paul Collingwood to their squad Monday because of uncertainties about a pitch struck by tornado-induced rains last week.

"We'll see what it's like in the morning and try to make use of all the options we have in case.

"The pitch doesn't look too bad. It's soft but I don't think there will be too many gremlins in the wicket. But until a ball has been bowled it's hard to judge," he added.

Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie suggested the tour might be called of if there were more terror bombs in England following the July 7 attacks in London.

But Vaughan said of the quick's comments: "That's something I can't control. We're looking forward to this match and Old Trafford (where the third Test starts a week on Thursday)."

However, asked if England - beaten in the last eight Ashes series - could afford to go to 2-0 down in five-match series, replied: "Not really. We have played well here in the past. It's important we put in a good performance here to try to level the series at 1-1 going into Old Trafford."

England (From): Michael Vaughan (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones, Ashley Giles, Simon Jones, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison.

Australia (From): Ricky Ponting (capt), Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn, Michael Clarke, Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath.