England pacer Mark Wood ruled out of Ashes series, Fisher named replacement

Brisbane, Dec 9 (IANS) England pacer Mark Wood has been ruled out of Ashes with a recurrence of the left-knee injury he sustained in the series opener in Perth. He will now return home to begin rehabilitation and recovery, ECB said on Tuesday.

Wood returned after a nine-month absence following knee surgery for the first Test in Perth, managing eight overs before suffering tightness in his left hamstring, though scans later ruled out damage, and he was passed fit to play and had match figures of 0-44 in 11 overs.

The 35-year-old pacer was later sent to a specialist after reporting pain in his knee and was ruled out of the second Test in Brisbane.

"England and Durham seamer Mark Wood has been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes tour of Australia, following a recurrence of the left-knee injury he sustained during the first Test in Perth earlier this month.

"Wood will return home later this week and work closely with the ECB medical team on his rehabilitation and recovery," ECB said in a statement.

England have called up Matthew Fisher to the squad. The seamer, who has been in Australia with the Lions, will link up with the group this week.

Fisher has played one Test for England so far, in the West Indies in March 2022, when he registered match figures of 1-21 from 27 overs. He has taken two wickets in three games for the Lions this winter, including that of Zak Crawley lbw when England's second string played the senior team in a pre-Ashes warm-up at Lilac Hill.

For Wood, the setback is yet another chapter in a career repeatedly disrupted by fitness problems. Before the Perth Test, he had not played red-ball cricket for England in 15 months due to an elbow injury followed by knee surgery.