New Delhi : England batter Jacob Bethell’s hopes of featuring in the upcoming Test series against South Africa have suffered a major setback after a recurrence of his right knee injury forced him out of the white-ball tour of Australia. The 23-year-old, who had travelled Down Under expecting to resume playing, will return home for specialist assessment after scans revealed a fresh problem during training.Bethell has not represented England since July, when he experienced discomfort in his knee while scoring 91 in an ODI against India at Lord’s. The injury subsequently required surgery in September, keeping him out of action for several months.

His return had appeared to be on track after he joined the England squad in Australia ahead of the three-match ODI series, which begins in Perth on Friday. However, he missed the team’s warm-up fixture against Western Australia over the weekend before suffering what England described as a setback in training earlier this week. (IANS)