Jacob Bethell has suffered a new 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.

But the 23-year-old has suffered a flare-up and will now fly back to England for assessment by a specialist.

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

England had already lost seamer Josh Tongue to a toe injury and have sent for uncapped duo James Coles and Eddie Jack to bolster their numbers. Both players had already been named in the T20 squad and are travelling from England Lions duty in the West Indies 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.”

The news is another blow to Bethell, who started 2026 with a wonderful century in the final Ashes Test in Sydney but has now missed out on six consecutive series in all formats. 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 be put on hold for the time being.