England’s fading Ashes hopes took another hit on Tuesday after fast bowler Mark Wood was officially ruled out of the remainder of the series due to a recurrence of his troublesome left-knee injury.
The veteran pacer, who turns 36 in January, played his first Test in 15 months during the Ashes opener in Perth, which England lost inside two days.
He yielded 11 wicketless overs before he reported pain and was sent for specialist assessment. He subsequently missed the second Test in Brisbane, where Australia cruised to a 2–0 lead.
The fast bowler was aiming to feature in the final two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.
However, discomfort from the same knee that had required extensive surgery earlier this year forced England’s medical staff to withdraw him from the campaign.
According to an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) statement, Wood will fly home later this week to continue rehabilitation under the board’s medical team.
“Wood will return home later this week and will work closely with the ECB medical team on his rehabilitation and recovery,” an ECB statement said.
The fast bowler expressed his frustration in an emotional message on Instagram.
“Gutted to be out the remainder of the Ashes,” he wrote.
“After extensive surgery and seven long, hard months of work and rehab to get back into the Test arena, my knee just hasn’t held up.
“None of us expected this. I came here with high expectations about making a big impact… I remain determined to give it another proper go. Never give in. Come on, England.”
To fill the void, the ECB confirmed that seamer Matthew Fisher has been added to the senior squad.
The 26-year-old, who played his only Test in 2022 against West Indies, is already in Australia with the England Lions and will join the main squad ahead of the third Test in Adelaide starting December 17.
England’s updated Test squad
Ben Stokes (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (vice-captain), Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Josh Tongue, Matthew Fisher.