England pacer Mark Wood has been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes series, following the recurrence of the knee injury, which has bothered him for most of 2025. Wood played the first Test match in Perth and sat out of the day-night fixture in Brisbane as part of a precautionary measure, with his knee not holding up. England have replaced Wood with Surrey paceman Matthew Fisher in the squad, who was playing for the Lions in the practice games.
"Wood will return home later this week and work closely with the ECB medical team on his rehabilitation and recovery," an ECB statement read. "Surrey seamer Matthew Fisher has been added to the senior squad and will link up with the group this week, having been in Australia with the Lions."
Wood was gutted after being ruled out of another Test assignment, after a brief appearance and mentioned that he was deeply disappointed given that he and everyone around him expected it to be a longer tour for him, with respect to fitness, coming off a long layoff.
"This looks short…. Like my trip. Gutted to be out the remainder of the ashes. 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," Wood said in an emotional statement on Instagram.
"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.
"I'm really sorry that it has left me unable to perform as expected but it is not for want of trying. I want to thank everyone at home and away in Australia. The barmy army have been class as always and I really appreciate it," Wood further said, while mentioning that he isn't done yet, at the highest level and is ready to give it another proper go and will aim to get back fully fit once again for the national side.
"Whatever happens, I will continue to push the limits to get back again. It has been a tough road these past few months, but I remain determined to give it another proper go," Wood added.
Josh Tongue is likely to come into the bowling attack for the Adelaide Test, while England will have a long and hard look at their batting line-up once again, having gone down massively again in Brisbane after Perth. England are 0-2 behind and will have to play out of their skins to win a Test match Down Under, let alone challenging Australia for a series win.
