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 problem during the opening Test in Perth, will return to the UK later this week to continue his rehabilitation with ECB medical staff.Go beyond borders with our YouTube channel. REGISTER NOW!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 key role in the high-pressure middle phase of the series. Instead, he returns home having barely played, with England now forced into yet another overhaul of their pace attack.
In his place, Surrey seamer Matthew Fisher was recruited into the team. Fisher has been training in Australia with the Lions and will join the Test team immediately. His arrival helps cover England’s growing injury list, although he lacks Wood’s pace and experience.The news comes just hours after Australia confirmed their own injury, with veteran seamer Josh Hazlewood ruled out of the rest of the series. Head coach Andrew McDonald said Hazlewood, who missed the first two Tests, had struggled to recover from hamstring and Achilles problems.“Really flat for him… We thought he would play a huge role in the series,” McDonald said, adding that Hazlewood would now aim to be fit for the upcoming T20 World Cup in February.Australia will, however, welcome back Pat Cummins, who looks set to return to captaincy in Adelaide after recovering from a lower back injury. McDonald confirmed the 32-year-old has completed a match-simulation workload and is ready to return. Mitchell Starc, the leading wicket-taker in the series so far, was also cleared despite a side issue at the Gabba.
