Due to a recurrence of a left knee injury he suffered during the first Test in Perth, England fast bowler Mark Wood will miss the rest of the Ashes. The team announced on Tuesday that Wood will return home later this week to focus on his recuperation and rehabilitation.
The loss of the 35-year-old Durham pacer is a blow to an inexperienced England attack that Australia’s batters handled admirably at the Gabba, where the hosts won by eight wickets.
After a protracted period of knee rehabilitation, the Perth match was Wood’s first Test in 15 months.
In a social media message, he expressed that he was “gutted” but that he would make every effort to return to the international scene.
“After extensive surgery and 7 long, hard months of work and rehab to get back into the Test arena, my knee just hasn’t held up,” he wrote.
“None of us expected this. I came here with high expectations about making a big impact. I’m desperately disappointed that despite yet more injections and intensive medical treatment it has become clear that the flare up in my knee is worse than feared.”
Wood was ruled out the same day Australia announced that reliable pacer Josh Hazlewood would not participate in the Ashes due to hamstring and Achilles issues.
After being in Australia with the England Lions, Surrey seamer Matthew Fisher has been added to the England squad and will join the team this week. During the 2022 tour to the West Indies, Fisher participated in his lone Test.
At the Gabba, England’s pace attack consisted of Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, and Gus Atkinson, while Will Jacks provided part-time spin and all-rounder Ben Stokes provided a fourth seam option. On Day 3, the hosts’ tailenders held on for more than two sessions as Australia scored 511 in their response to England’s first innings 334.
Australia have a 2-0 lead in the five-Test series and can retain the urn by simply drawing the third game in Adelaide, which begins on December 17.
