London: Star English pacer Mark Wood on Friday was ruled out of England's upcoming tour to Sri Lanka due to left side strain.
"Wood sustained the injury at the end of the South Africa tour earlier this month. He underwent several scans in London, which confirmed a small tear to his left side. He will now commence an injury rehabilitation program, working with England and Durham medical teams respectively," England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement.
Wood will be replaced by Lancashire seamer Saqib Mahmood. The England Test squad will travel to Sri Lanka on Monday, March 2.
The two-match Test series forms part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC). Joe Root's team currently stands in third place and will be looking to close in on India and Australia, who are currently leading the standings.
The top two teams at the end of the two-year cycle will compete in the ICC World Test Championship final in England in June 2021.
England squad: Joe Root (c), Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Keaton Jennings (wk), Jack Leach, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Saqib Mahmood.
The first Test of the series will be played at Galle International Stadium from March 19.
