Due to a stress fracture in his back, England spinner Jack Leach has been ruled out of the Ashes series against Australia.
A scan confirmed the injury suffered by the 31-year-old during the Test victory against Ireland at Lord’s on Saturday.
Leach has taken 45 wickets in 13 Tests for England since Ben Stokes took over as captain.
The squad’s successor will be announced in due time.
In addition to being a significant blow to England’s hopes, this is a cruel personal setback for Leach, who has battled a number of health and injury concerns throughout his England career.
While on tour with England in New Zealand in 2019, Leach contracted gastroenteritis, which progressed to peritonitis. Leach has Crohn’s disease, a condition that causes inflammation of the digestive tract.
Last summer, he was also forced to leave a Test due to a concussion.
Rehan Ahmed, age 18, was the last spinner other than Leach to play a Test for England, when both he and Leach participated in the December third Test against Pakistan.
Leg-spinner Ahmed took 5-48 on debut.
Will Jacks, an off-spinning all-rounder for Surrey, played in the first two Tests of the same series and took 6-161 in his debut.
