Australia have been rocked by a late injury withdrawal on the eve of the second Ashes Test in Brisbane.

Australia opening batsman Usman Khawaja was on Tuesday ruled out of the Test against England at the Gabba with the back injury he suffered during the Perth opener.

The veteran had back spasms and failed to open in the first Test victory. He was replaced for the second innings by Travis Head, who blasted a match-winning century.

It leaves Khawaja’s international future in doubt. He turns 39 later this month and has been under pressure after a lean run of form with the bat.

“Khawaja will remain with the team to continue his rehabilitation. He has not been replaced in the squad,” said Cricket Australia ahead of Thursday’s day-night encounter at Brisbane’s Gabba.

Khawaja batted for 30 minutes in the practice nets on Tuesday evening but the left-hander appeared to be in discomfort.

Head will be favourite to be deployed as makeshift opener in Khawaja’s absence. He opens in white-ball cricket and said he would be happy to face the Test new ball again after his whirlwind 123 off 83 balls at Perth took Australia to an eight-wicket victory.

If Head does move up, seaming all-rounder Beau Webster is likely to come in at No 6, with Cameron Green occupying Head’s usual fifth slot in the batting order.

Paceman Scott Boland had sympathy for Khawaja.

“It’s hard because he’s put in a lot of work since the last game just trying to get his body right but he hasn’t come up, unfortunately,” Boland told reporters.

“I thought he looked pretty good in the nets, but he must have thought in himself that he wasn’t ready to go.”

England-born Josh Inglis is another in the mix to come in, and Boland said: “I think the best thing about our team over the last few years is when someone has come out, either due to form or an injury, someone’s always stood up and done their job.”

– AFP

Photo: Chris Hyde/Getty Images