England’s have suffered another injury blow after reports emerged suggesting Mark Wood was ruled out for whole of the Ashes after failing to recover from a side strain.

Wood was excellent for England at the 2019 Men’s Cricket World Cup, taking 18 wickets and averaging 25.72, but he strained his left side during the tournament. It was hoped that he’d regain fitness in the latter part of the five-match Ashes, but reports in the Daily Mail have now have suggested he has been ruled out of all five matches.

He is already battling an injury to his right knee, and a combination of the two problems have scuppered his chances of playing his first Ashes Test in four years.

Jimmy Anderson underwent some light jogging this morning.#ENGvAUS #Ashes pic.twitter.com/ndGZ0plEPZ

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 2, 2019

The news has added to England’s problems, given Jimmy Anderson went down four overs into his spell in the first Test in Edgbaston on Thursday, with a recurrence of his calf injury. Ahead of play on the second day, Anderson was seen doing some jogging around the outfield, but the results of the scans on his calf have yet to be revealed.

However, in better news, Jofra Archer, who is expected to be England’s first choice to replace Anderson, is set to build up his overs with Sussex in a T20 match and a second XI game.

England could also turn to Sam Curran, the all-rounder who bowls left-arm seam, or speedster Ollie Stone, who claimed three wickets against Ireland on his Test debut last week.