London, Jun 4 (AP) England's Ashes preparations were rocked Sunday after spinner Jack Leach was ruled out of the entire series with a back stress fracture.

The 31-year-old Leach claimed four wickets during England's 10-wicket victory over Ireland at Lord's, but developed low back symptoms during the match.

Also Read | Formula 1: Max Verstappen Wins Spanish GP 2023 from Pole Position for 40th Career Victory.

A subsequent scan on Sunday revealed a stress fracture in the lumbar region of the spine, which will rule the key spinner out of all five tests against Australia.

“England will announce a replacement for the Ashes series in due course,” an England statement said.

Also Read | Novak Djokovic Breaks Tie with Rafael Nadal by Reaching 17th French Open Quarterfinals, Beats Juan Pablo Varillas in Fourth Round.

Leach has taken 124 wickets in 35 tests overall with best match figures of 10-166.

The first Ashes test starts June 16 at Edgbaston. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)