Pietersen devastated by injury blow

Kevin Pietersen is devastated to be missing the final three Ashes Tests after succumbing to his crippling Achilles injury.

Pietersen, 29, underwent surgery on the inflamed tendon on Wednesday after being examined by a specialist and has been ruled out of action until September.

"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 problem first surfaced as long ago as the winter tour of the Caribbean and a recurrence forced him onto the sidelines for the home one-day series against West Indies.