Usman Khawaja has been ruled out of the second Ashes Test with his back injury.<\/p>\n
The 38-year-old’s place in the XI had been under intense scrutiny since back spasms forced him from the field in the victorious first Test and prevented him from opening the batting.<\/p>\n
Australia had been set for a selection dilemma given Travis Head’s heroic century when replacing the out-of-form Khawaja at the top in Perth.<\/p>\n
Khawaja completed light training duties during the team’s optional session at the Gabba on Monday, stretching his back, undertaking shuttle runs and batting in the nets.<\/p>\n
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Khawaja has struggled with injury and ill form of late.\u00a0 (AAP: Dave Hunt)<\/p>\n
But on Tuesday afternoon, Cricket Australia confirmed he had pulled up sore from his injury and would miss the Test that begins on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“Khawaja will remain with the team to continue his rehabilitation,” CA said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The news means Head is likely to again partner Jake Weatherald at the top of the order, with Australia opting not to replace Khawaja in the squad.<\/p>\n
Head’s move to opener would create a vacancy in the middle order and towering all-rounder Beau Webster appears the favourite to claim it.<\/p>\n
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Webster has had an impressive first year as a Test cricketer, averaging 34.63 with the bat and taking eight wickets across his first seven Tests.<\/p>\n
He was the odd man out at the selection table for the first Test, with Cameron Green the only all-rounder chosen in the XI that won by eight wickets.<\/p>\n
Josh Inglis is another possibility should Australia prefer a like-for-like option to Head, who has become known for his role as the middle-order aggressor in recent years.<\/p>\n
Inglis memorably smacked a century on Test debut in Sri Lanka earlier this year but has averaged a meagre 5.66 across his two Tests since.<\/p>\n
Khawaja will now race the clock to be fit for the third Test in Adelaide from December 17 \u2014 the day before his 39th birthday.<\/p>\n
Even if he is able to recover, he is no guarantee to hold onto his spot for the remainder of the Ashes given a lean run of form that has yielded just one century since June 2023.<\/p>\n