Chris Tremlett is out for the next fortnight with a side injury.

The Hampshire bowler has suffered knee, ankle and hip problems in the last year and his latest setback means he is unlikely to feature before the next championship match at The Rose Bowl, against Nottinghamshire on June 7.

During the first half of last season Tremlett was bowling his way into the England one-day side.

But he is set to miss the next two C & G Trophy games - against Gloucestershire at The Rose Bowl on Bank Holiday Monday and against Surrey at Whitgift on June 4 - as well as next week's championship match against Yorkshire at Headingley.

It means he will have played in only two of Hampshire's first six championship games - if he returns for the clash against reigning champions Nottinghamshire in a fortnight's time.

The 24-year-old's injury problems mean he has only taken four championship wickets at 34.50 so far this season, having already taken 29 at just 18.68 each at the same stage last year.

Tremlett fell away during the second half of last season, but Hampshire manager Paul Terry is hoping that his latest lay off will enable his strike bowler to hit form during the second half of the summer.

Terry said: "Chris did his side when he was bowling at Edgbaston two weeks ago but is not far off playing, he's probably about another two weeks away.

"It might have resulted from a slight change in his action. It's a problem and we're trying to resolve it, but at least he'll be nice and fresh when he comes back."

With his 25th birthday in September, Tremlett should be in his physical prime but Terry is confident that the 6ft 7in fast bowler's best days are still ahead of him.

And he is understandably reluctant to draw comparisons between Tremlett and his former Hampshire teammate Jon Ayling, the promising all-rounder whose career ended at 25 because of a knee injury.

Terry added: "It's a tough game for big blokes, you only need to ask Reidy to tell you that - he had a few injuries."

Hampshire bowling coach Bruce Reid, the former Australia bowler, was notoriously susceptible to injury during his playing days but still managed to enjoy a seven-year Test career, taking 113 wickets at the top level at just 24.63 runs apiece.

Terry continued: "Like a lot of big blokes, Chris is asked to do a lot of work and at the moment he's not handling it.

"But hopefully he will, he's strong and we just have to hope he gets this one out of the way and comes back stronger."

Shaun Udal was also left out for the championship match against Kent at The Rose Bowl which began yesterday. But the England off-spinner is not injured, just rested for a game in which the damp conditions better suit the seamers.

Hampshire have replaced Tremlett and Udal with Billy Taylor and Michael Brown, who hit his third first class hundred against Loughborough last week.

But Brown was out for a duck, along with fellow opener Jimmy Adams.

Terry added: "With the weather as it is we didn't feel that two spinners would come into the game that much.

"Browny has been scoring heaps of runs in the seconds and we've got a fair few bowlers in the side so we decided to go in with the extra batter, but unfortunately it wasn't his day."

Terry believes John Crawley is the key to a respectable first innings total against Kent.

Crawley ended day unbeaten on 33, with Hampshire 72-4, having lost the toss in damp conditions, and with more rain forecast.

Brown's recall meant that Crawley shifted one place down the order to four, but he was still at the crease in the fourth over as Kent's seamers prospered in the favourable conditions.

Adams was yorked by the fourth ball of the day, a perfect late inswinger from Andrew Hall (2-17), and Brown departed for a nine-ball duck when he edged a forcing shot off the back foot to first slip.

Former Kent batsman Michael Carberry (17) played on as he shouldered arms to Hall and in the penultimate over of a day on which only 29 were possible, Dominic Thornely (13) was caught at the wicket.

Terry said: "If we manage to get to 250-300 we'll be happy, but we need John Crawley to hang around for another 50 overs or so, if possible.

"He's an old pro and I'm sure he's used to playing on wickets where the ball seams around, having been brought up on wickets up north."