England fast bowler Josh Tongue has been ruled out of the ODI series against Australia with a left big toe injury and will return to the UK for assessment.

England announced it on November 7, ahead of the series opener in Perth on November 13. Tongue, 28, had been picked for the ODI leg only and was rested from the T20I leg as a precaution. England have not named a replacement, a sign the management believes the group has enough depth to cover him. Tongue arrived in Perth last week for a tour of three ODIs and five T20s.

That leaves the pace attack thinner for three ODIs against Australia. England still have Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson as seam options, with Jamie Overton, Sonny Baker and Henry Crocombe also in the squad. Brendon McCullum, the white-ball coach, and Stephen Fleming, his red-ball counterpart, are both on the trip. Harry Brook leads the ODI side, with Joe Root and Sam Curran also in the group.

England’s first outing in Perth showed what the attack can still do. Adil Rashid took 4-35 and Jofra Archer 3-34 as Western Australia, set 252, were bowled out for 159 in a 92-run warm-up defeat. England were bowled out for 251 in the same match, and Jacob Bethell, returning from knee surgery, also missed the game.

Tongue’s white-ball run this year rested on his red-ball work. He claimed 19 wickets in three Tests against Pakistan, form that pushed him into England’s 50-over plans. He has 46 wickets from 17 matches this year. He played two home ODIs against Sri Lanka earlier in 2026, plus one game in the Pakistan tri-series.

He made his ODI and T20I debuts in 2026 and has held a place in England’s Test side for the past year. At ODI level, he has played five matches and taken five wickets. He also took 18 wickets during the 2025-26 Ashes in Australia.

His most notable white-ball spell came at Rawalpindi, where he took 3 for 79 against Sri Lanka, who chased 429 to win. The toe issue is thought to have started during that Pakistan tri-series, and he sat out the last two matches of it.

“Josh Tongue has been ruled out of the white-ball tour of Australia due to a left big toe injury,” team officials said. “Tongue will return to the UK to undergo further assessment.” The tour is England’s first in Australia since they lost the 2025-26 Ashes 4-1. McCullum had said he wanted a full-strength side for the 50-over leg as build-up to next year’s World Cup in southern Africa.
The Australia trip is one of five separate overseas tours for England this winter, and McCullum has said he will use a rotated squad for the T20s.

Tongue is likely to return for December’s three-Test tour of South Africa, and that squad will be named next week.

England open the ODI leg in Perth on November 13, with the remaining matches in Adelaide and Hobart. The shape of England’s attack will draw attention once they name their XI for the opener.