London: Australia paceman Jackson Bird is returning home from the Ashes tour for treatment on a lower back injury that ruled him out of the fifth test against England.
Team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris says in a short Cricket Australia statement that Bird has had "low back pain over the past week" and is flying home "to begin the process of investigating the source of the pain and rehabilitation."
Bird made his Ashes debut in the fourth test at Chester-le-Street and took two wickets.
