I would certainly be keen to talk to the club again Jacques Rudolph

Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf will start the season with the club, but Rudolph will not now be replacing him in mid-May as originally planned.

One option for Derbyshire is a fresh approach to Australian Justin Langer.

He turned down an offer from the club but had a change of heart after Yousuf and Rudolph had been signed.

"Justin is one of several possibilities that we are looking at. I met Justin several times last summer and he was obviously an ideal candidate," Derbyshire chief executive Tom Sears told BBC Sport.

Rudolph, meanwhile, said he was "desperately disappointed" to miss out on the chance to play for Derbyshire.

"I was very excited about joining the club but I have been advised that the shoulder does need surgery," he said.

"I would certainly be keen to talk to the club again, maybe later this year and see what opportunities there may be for 2007."

Despite the problem, it is expected that Rudolph will play in the forthcoming home Test series against Australia.

Derbyshire, meanwhile, are confident they will be in a position to announce a replacement in the near future.

"We have been looking at what options are available to us to replace Jacques if the worst case scenario was confirmed," Sears added.