BRISBANE, Nov 8 AAP - Australia could lose luckless paceman Jason Gillespie for the rest of the Gabba Test match as the fallout continues from England's stunning Ashes fightback.

Gillespie will be forced to prove his fitness in the nets tomorrow morning after feeling another niggle in his troublesome calf muscle as England roared back into contention in the first Test today.

At stumps on the second day, the tourists were 1-158 in their first innings in reply to Australia's 492, with Marcus Trescothick (63 not out), Mark Butcher (51 not out) and Michael Vaughan (33) leading an aggressive assault on the world champions.

They faced only three overs from Gillespie (0-5), who jolted his ankle while batting and then felt tightness in his calf after bowling.

The 27-year-old remained on the field but was kept from bowling, leaving genuine fears he would rejoin the injury list after missing Australia's last two Test victories with a torn calf muscle.

"You have to weigh up the situation and if we think he's got a serious problem then we'll have to think about what's best for him," Australian physiotherapist Errol Alcott said.

"At this stage, he's functional and he can field ... and I'm pretty confident but the human body, being what it is, means we'll have to see how he pulls up tomorrow morning after eight hours of not moving.

"He'll definitely have to bowl (in the nets) before he goes out if he wants to bowl tomorrow."

It was news Australia didn't need after watching England pick itself off the canvas.

The tourists conceded 364 runs for the loss of just two wickets on a dreadful first day but the combined fight of their batsmen and bowlers enabled them to finish the second day equal on points.

© 2002 AAP

This report does not necessarily represent the views of the Australian Cricket Board.