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England have been dealt a major blow ahead of the third Test against Australia as pacer Mark Wood has been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes 2025-26. Wood will miss the last three Tests after a recurrence of his left knee injury, which he sustained during the first Test against the Aussies in Perth.
Wood, who has been dealing with multiple injury issues over the last few months, made his Test comeback for England in the Ashes 2025-26 opener in Perth after undergoing surgery earlier this year. However, his campaign in the series has been cut short due to his knee issue. Wood will now fly back home and begin his rehab process.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that Surrey seamer Matthew Fisher has been added to England's squad as a replacement for the injured Wood. Fisher is in Australia with the England Lions squad and will link up with the senior squad in Adelaide this week, ahead of the third Test, which gets underway on December 17.
Wood was out of action for 15 months after undergoing surgery for his knee injury. He missed England's Test series against India at home earlier this year and worked hard on his fitness for his return in the Ashes 2025-26. He bowled only 8 overs in the warm-up game against England Lions and reported tightness in his hamstring. However, the fast bowler was cleared to play the first Test against Australia in Perth.
In the series opener in Perth, Wood bowled only 11 overs across Australia's two innings and looked far from his best as the hosts wrapped up a dominant 8-wicket win inside two days. Wood went wicketless in the game. The pacer subsequently missed the recently concluded 2nd Test between Australia and England in Brisbane, where the hosts won by 8 wickets to go 2-0 up in the series.
Wood's injury comes as a major blow for England as it leaves a gap in their pace attack. His ability to bowl consistently at over 140kph will be a big miss for the visitors. Wood was expecting to return at some point in the series after missing the 2nd Test, however, England decided against taking a chance with the fast bowler.
In Wood's absence, England still poses a potent pace attack comprising Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Gus Atkinson and Matthew Potts. However, Wood's experience could have proven handy. England's bowlers have struggled against a quality Australian batting line-up in the series so far and will be hoping to produce a strong performance in the third Test in Adelaide as the visitors look to bounce back.
