Ashes 2025-26: Mark Wood ruled out of remainder of series, England name replacement

England’s senior fast bowler Mark Wood has been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes 2025-26 series due to a flare-up of his left-knee injury. Already trailing 2-0 after heavy defeats in Perth and Brisbane, England now has the task of making a comeback without one of their quickest and most experienced seamers. Meanwhile, the selectors have called in Surrey seamer Matthew Fisher into the squad ahead of the third Test in Adelaide.

Wood returned to Test cricket at Perth after his knee surgery earlier in the year. However, the 35-year-old bowled just 11 wicketless overs in the first Test before reporting significant discomfort in his left knee, the same injury that ended his Champions Trophy campaign in February.

He subsequently missed the Brisbane Test, and further medical assessments confirmed that he would not recover in time for the remainder of the tour. The ECB stated that Wood will fly home this week to begin rehabilitation under their medical team.

To fill the void, England have called up Matthew Fisher, who has been part of the England Lions squad in Australia. Fisher played his only Test in 2022 against the West Indies. Although his recent outings for the Lions have been decent, taking just two wickets in three matches, his experience with Australian conditions has made him the immediate backup for the visitors.

England haven't had the start they would have wanted in the marquee series. Their eight-wicket losses in both the Perth opener and the Brisbane Test have exposed the team. On the other hand, Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood’s Achilles injury has ruled him out of the entire series. However, skipper Pat Cummins is set to return to the XI. Usman Khawaja is also expected to regain fitness.

England's updated squad for Ashes 2025-26

Ben Stokes (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Matthew Fisher, Jacob Bethell, Matthew Potts, Josh Tongue, Will Jacks