Mark Wood ruled out of Ashes with knee injury; Fisher called up

England have suffered another major blow to their Ashes hopes with Mark Wood ruled out of the remainder of the series due to a left-knee injury. The 35-year-old quick picked up the issue during England's eight-wicket defeat in the Perth opener, a recurrence of the problem that had sidelined him for much of the year. He missed the second Test at the Gabba and will now play no part in the final three matches, starting December 17 in Adelaide.

Wood will return home later this week to begin his rehabilitation under the ECB medical staff. The setback, after featuring in Perth for his first competitive game since knee surgery in February, is another in a career frequently interrupted by injury.

England have drafted in Surrey seamer Matthew Fisher as Wood's replacement. Fisher, currently in Australia with the Lions side, has taken two wickets across three games on tour, including that of Zak Crawley in a warm-up fixture at Lilac Hill.

The 28-year-old finished with 0/105 from 31 overs in the Lions' recent innings defeat to Australia A in Brisbane. Fisher has played one Test so far, against West Indies in 2022, returning match figures of 1/21 in Antigua.