Ash are delaying a decision on whether their drummer is well enough after their bus crash for them to play at the Reading festival.

The festival starts on Friday evening, with The Strokes, Foo Fighters, and Prodigy headlining.

Ash are third on the bill on Saturday at Reading, as well as third on Sunday at the sister festival in Leeds.

Guns 'n' Roses will be the main event in Leeds

Manager Stephen Taverner posted an entry on the band's official website saying they were putting back their decision on whether to play from Thursday to Saturday.

The tour bus crash - which happened on the way to Detroit to play a gig at Moby's Area:2 festival - left drummer Rick McMurray with cracked ribs.

Mr Taverner said he had flown to Belfast to speak to McMurray, who was worried playing could make his injuries worse.

He believes he can play at Thursday night's Top of the Pops recording and on Saturday show CD:UK, after which the decision will be made.

Doctors have told the drummer he would be taking a risk by playing for more than 10 minutes.

But bassist Mark Hamilton is said only to be suffering whiplash and will wear a neck brace, but is otherwise uninjured. Singer and guitarist Tim Wheeler and guitarist Charlotte Hatherley were not injured.

Also appearing at the festivals are The Offspring, Slipknot, The White Stripes and The Hives.

Loyal following

The Reading festival has been attended by up to 50,000 music fans and has a stellar line-up this year.

It has traditionally played second-fiddle to the much larger Glastonbury festival, but is more rock-orientated and has a loyal following.

Its sister festival in Leeds is the more recent addition, with most of the same line-up appearing on different days.

This year's main event at Leeds is likely to be Guns 'n' Roses' headlining slot on Friday.

The Leeds leg was in doubt for a period because councillors initially refused it an entertainment licence.