Ashes blow for England: Mark Wood ruled out as knee injury ends tour

England suffered a major setback on Tuesday as pace spearhead Mark Wood was ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes due to a recurrence of his left-knee injury. The fast bowler, who suffered the issue during the opening Test in Perth, will return to the UK later this week to continue rehabilitation with the ECB medical staff.

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Wood’s exit leaves England without one of their quickest and most experienced options in Australian conditions. The Durham speedster had been tipped to play a defining role in the high-pressure middle phase of the series. Instead, he heads home having barely featured, with England now forced into yet another reshuffle of their pace attack.




In his place, Surrey seamer Matthew Fisher has been drafted into the squad. Fisher has been training in Australia with the Lions and will join the Test team immediately. His addition helps cover England’s growing list of injuries, although he lacks Wood’s pace and experience.

The news comes just hours after Australia confirmed their own injury blow, with veteran seamer Josh Hazlewood ruled out of the rest of the series. Head coach Andrew McDonald said Hazlewood, who had missed the first two Tests, struggled to recover from hamstring and Achilles problems.

“Really flat for him… We thought he'd play a huge part in the series,” McDonald said, adding that Hazlewood would now aim to be fit for the upcoming T20 World Cup in February.

Australia, however, will welcome back Pat Cummins, who looks set to captain again in Adelaide after recovering from a lower back injury. McDonald confirmed the 32-year-old had completed a match-simulation workload and was ready to return. Mitchell Starc, the series’ leading wicket-taker so far, has also been cleared despite battling a side niggle at the Gabba.


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