Pietersen out after surgey

LONDON : England batsman Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes series against Australia after having surgery on an Achilles tendon injury, the England and Wales Cricket Board said yesterday.

The 29-year-old right-hander, England's leading batsman with a Test average of 49.96, was hampered by the injury during the second match of the series which finished on Monday.

“Following a consultation, involving scans and testing with the world's leading Achilles specialist, Kevin Pietersen today underwent surgery on his right Achilles tendon,'' ECB chief medical officer Nick Peirce said in a statement.

“Kevin will look to undertake a comprehensive rehabilitation programme to ensure there is no risk of recurrence. This is expected to be approximately six weeks.''

Pietersen said he was very disappointed to miss the last three Tests of the series.

“As an England cricketer the Ashes are the pinnacle of the game so I'm absolutely devastated to be missing the rest of this series,'' Pietersen said.

“Up until now the Achilles injury has been manageable but it recently reached the point where we needed to look at other options in terms of treatment.

I hate missing matches for England and especially during an Ashes summer. But now that the decision has been made to undergo surgery I'm confident I can return to the England team injury-free following a course of rehabilitation.''