England have been hit with a blow in their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign as pacer Brydon Carse has been ruled out of the tournament due to a toe injury. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed the development and also named the replacement for Carse.
"England fast bowler Brydon Carse will return home this week to continue his recovery from a toe injury. Durham and England bowling all-rounder Brydon Carse has been ruled out for the remainder of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy due to a left toe injury," ECB wrote in a statement.
"Carse sustained the injury during England’s opening Group B match against Australia on Saturday in Lahore. Leicestershire leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed has been named as his replacement and will join the squad in Pakistan later this week," the Board added.
Carse got injured during his team's clash against Australia in their Champions Trophy 2025 opener at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. He bowled seven overs and went for 69 runs, picking up one wicket in the game.
England are in choppy waters after losing their opener to Australia. The English side had set-up the biggest total in Champions Trophy history - 351, which the Aussies then chased down. Josh Inglis was the star with the bat in the chase as he played a cool-headed knock of 120* from 86 balls.
England are in a must-win territory and will now face Afghanistan in their second match on February 26 at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, followed by their final league stage game against South Africa on March 1 at the National Stadium, Karachi.
England's updated squad for Champions Trophy 2025:
Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Jamie Overton, Saqib Mahmood, Tom Banton, Gus Atkinson