English pacer Steven Finn has been ruled out of the upcoming Ashes series due to a knee injury. The right-arm bowler got hit on his knee while batting in the nets on the first day of the middle practice in Perth.

The further diagnosis has revealed that there is a torn cartilage in his left knee which has failed to improve, as the English camp would have hoped. However, there is still no clarity on whether he will be needing a surgery or not as it will be decided after his arrival in England.

Finn was roped in the squad as a replacement for Ben Stokes who wasn’t considered for selection after the nightclub brawl in Bristol. With the unavailability of Mark Wood, Tom Curran, Tom Helm, and Liam Plunkett are favorites for a call-up.

England’s first First Class match of the tour will commence on Wednesday in which they will lock horns with Cricket Australia XI. The team management is looking to balance the workload of frontline pacers Stuart Broad and James Anderson ahead of the opening Test. While Broad will sit out of this fixture, Anderson will miss next week’s match in Townsville.

England team to play Cricket Australia XI: Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Joe Root (capt), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Chris Woakes, Jamie Overton, Jake Ball, Mason Crane, James Anderson