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 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.
"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, which England lead 1-0.
"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."
The South African-born Pietersen has scored 4,647 runs in 54 Tests, including 16 centuries, since making his debut against Australia in 2005.
BRILLIANT INNINGS
His brilliant innings of 158 on the last day of the final match of that series enabled England to secure the draw which clinched the Ashes.
Pietersen took over as England captain from Michael Vaughan in 2008 but resigned in January in controversial circumstances after criticising coach Peter Moores.
He top-scored for England with 69 in the first Ashes Test but was widely condemned for the injudicious stroke which caused his dismissal and he looked uncomfortable during the second match when he contributed scratchy knocks of 32 and 44.