Jacob Bethell has suffered an injury setback, ruling him out of England’s white-ball series in Australia and raising doubts over his fitness for the Test trip to South Africa.

Bethell has been out since July with a right knee complaint which required surgery over the summer but joined up with the squad in Perth last week ahead of his planned comeback.

However, the 23-year-old experienced a flare-up and following a scan, will now fly back to England for assessment by a specialist.

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Setback

That ends his prospects of featuring in the three ODIs and five T20s Down Under and also puts a huge question mark over whether or not he will be ready for South Africa in December, where he was expected to return to the Test side.

England had already lost seamer Josh Tongue to a toe injury, with uncapped duo James Coles and Eddie Jack now added to the ODI squad to bolster their numbers.

Both players had been named for the T20 leg but will now leave England Lions duty in the West Indies early to travel in time for the second and third ODIs.

A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board read: “Jacob Bethell has been ruled out of the white-ball tour of Australia following a scan on his right knee.

“Bethell suffered a setback in his return from the injury during a training session in Perth earlier this week.

“With a busy winter ahead it was decided that he will return to the UK on Saturday before seeing a specialist.”

Breathing space

The news is another blow to Bethell, who started 2026 with stunning centuries in the final Ashes Test in Sydney and T20 World Cup semi-final against India but has now missed out on six consecutive series across all formats.

Having sat out the warm-up match against Western Australia, he attended training at Optus Stadium on Wednesday in a watching brief and will stay with the group until they depart for Adelaide at the weekend.

His absence could provide breathing space for others.

Tom Banton will have the chance to continue opening in the 50-over team, while the expectation that one of Emilio Gay or Jordan Cox could be squeezed out of the Test XI may now be put on hold.

England’s white-ball series against Australia begins with the first ODI in Perth on Friday.