Anderson made his England Test debut at Lord's in 2003

England bowler James Anderson plans to return to action next week despite still not knowing the cause of his long-standing knee injury.

The Lancashire paceman sat out England's recent Bangladesh tour after being advised to rest his right knee.

But Anderson, 27, says that even though doctors are mystified as to the cause of the injury, he is ready to play.

"The knee is good; the rehab has been going well," he told the Manchester Evening News.

Anderson added that he intends to play in the three-day match against Durham University that starts on 3 April.

"Lancashire have a few more warm-up games, but we will take it day by day and see how the knee pulls up," he added.

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Anderson took painkilling injections at the start of England's tour to South Africa, during which he took 16 wickets during the drawn four-Test series.

Anderson had three more injections during the tour and then took a three-week break, but admitted he is still unsure why the joint is sore.

"I started bowling a couple of weeks ago and am bowling at about three-quarters pace at the moment," he said.

"I don't know exactly what the problem was. I went to see a surgeon in London, and he didn't know what it was.

"All the doctors I have seen didn't have a clue, so we just spread a bit of cortisone around where I pointed at, where the pain was, and we left it for three weeks.

"It can be quite difficult to decipher what is a niggle and what can cause you problems - because as a bowler you are never really 100% fit."

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