England batsman Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes series against Australia after having surgery on a Achilles tendon injury, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Wednesday. 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 program 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.” Ian Bell will be favorite to replace Pietersen in the team for next week's third Test at Edgbaston. Qadir wants Warne back Former Pakistan chief selector Abdul Qadir says Australia must bring Shane Warne out of retirement it wants to beat England in ongoing Ashes series. “Age is not a factor, if Warne can play in IPL (Indian Premier League) I don't see any reason why can't he play in Test matches,” Qadir told the Associated Press in a telephone interview from Lahore. Several commentators and former players publicly mooted Warne's recall to the Test team in the lead up to the Ashes, including former England opener Geoffrey Boycott's call for him to be installed as captain. Both Cricket Australia and Warne rejected the possibility of a return to the Test team.
