England suffer injury blow as Josh Tongue misses Australia ODI series

England fast bowler Josh Tongue has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia due to a toe injury. The 28-year-old was also not included in England’s squad for the five-match T20I series as he prepares for the team’s upcoming Test tour of South Africa. However, he will now return to the UK for further medical checks on his injury.

The pacer had reportedly been dealing with a problem in his left big toe during England’s recent tour of Pakistan and played only one of the four matches in the tri-series.

Tongue has become a regular part of England’s Test team over the past 12 months and made his ODI and T20I debuts earlier this year. He is also among England’s promising fast bowlers across formats, alongside Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Sonny Baker.

England started their Australia tour on a winning note, beating their opponents in a 50-over warm-up match in Perth on Saturday. The three-match ODI series will begin next Friday, followed by five T20I matches.

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Tongue’s injury comes ahead of a busy winter schedule for England, which includes a three-match Test series against South Africa.

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The team will play a warm-up match in Durban from Dec 9 to 11 before the first Test begins in Johannesburg on Dec 17.

Tongue will now undergo further assessment in the UK as England prepare for their limited-overs matches in Australia and the upcoming Test series in South Africa.