Former England batsman Michael Vaughan has insisted that he wished he hadn't criticised Jonathan Trott after learning that he has been suffering from a stress-related illness.

The 32-year-old left the England Ashes squad today following the tourists' first Test defeat to Australia in Brisbane.

"I'm desperately sorry for him, he's made exactly the right decision," Vaughan told BBC Radio Five Live. "I think the hardest thing is that it's no visual.

"I don't know how long its been going on but I criticised him in the second innings and you look back and I wish I hadn't now, I wish I'd have known he was going through troubles.

"An Ashes series away from home is so pressurised. It's going to be a really tough ask to come back from this. It's certainly around the cricketing fraternity, we've seen a number of players come out and talk about it. It's a serious issue because it's not visual and they hide it away."

England coach Andy Flower has revealed that Trott has been dealing with the problem for some time.