England [Images] captain Michael Vaughan [Images] will make his long-awaited return to competitive cricket on Wednesday when he plays for an England Academy XI in a one-day match against a Western Australia second XI in Perth.

Vaughan, who has been dogged by a knee injury, was restricted to practising in the nets during England's first Ashes Test defeat in Brisbane at the weekend.

He has hardly played since captaining England to their Ashes victory last year, making only a brief comeback at the end of May for his county side Yorkshire.

Named player of the series when England last played for the Ashes in Australia, his return to competitive cricket will raise hopes he could make the fourth Test starting on December 26 in Melbourne.

Vaughan raised those hopes last week by telling Sky Sports News: "How my knee reacts to cricket and games, and spending a day in the field... only time will tell.

"But so far the rehab has gone really well and I'm quietly confident that within a month or so I may be available for selection."

England coach Duncan Fletcher, however, played down Vaughan's chances of playing in the test series.

"We're still planning that hopefully he'll be available for the one-dayers," Fletcher told reporters in Adelaide where the England side are preparing for the second Test starting on Friday.

"If anything comes earlier than that, then all good and well.

"But this Test series, from my point of view, I don't think he can play at this stage."