SIMON Jones will be fit for the start of the new season, Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes has insisted.

The County pace ace is currently on the latest long road to recovery following yet another knee operation earlier this autumn.

Yet, the New Road chief is confident that the 2005 Ashes hero will be lining up with the rest of his team-mates on the opening day of the 2009 campaign.

The injury-plagued Welshman has been working hard with physio Ben Langley since the operation to clean up his knee in October.

But Rhodes insists that his rehabilitation will be carefully managed to give the seamer the best opportunity of playing all the 2009 campaign.

“Simon has been slowly working up his rehab,” Rhodes said. “But, believe it or not, he hasn’t done any running yet and that is on purpose. He won’t do any running until well into the new year — but he will still be fit. There are lots of other things that we have got Simon doing.

“We don’t want him doing any of the pounding work yet as it might see him take a step backwards — that is something none of us want.

“As things stand at the moment, Simon will be fit and firing for the start of the season.

“We’ll probably have to manage his situation carefully again but that is so he can still be playing until the end of the season.”

The New Road director of cricket isn’t concerned that his fragile prized asset will not start bowling when the rest of his players do.

When Jones got into the swing of things last season he claimed 42 Championship wickets at little more than 18 apiece and was back bowling above the 90mph mark.

“When you have the skills that Simon has got you don’t lose them — the older you get the easier it is to get those skills back straight away,” Rhodes said.

“A lot of the younger guys need a big, long pre-season to make sure they are right for the new campaign.

“But Simon will just rock up and it won’t take him long to feel right.

“Just look at last season. His figures and statistics were impeccable.

“That just shows the quality that he has. Let’s not forget he suffers more than we do with the injuries.”