Latest injury update on Nathan Lyon spells bad news for Australia

On Friday morning, Nathan Lyon arrived at the ground on crutches wearing a white compression sock on his right calf but did not take the field on Day 3 of the Lord's Test. As per the latest update from Cricket Australia, Lyon is unlikely to play any further part in the Ashes series having suffered a "significant strain" on his calf that could take a "period of rehabilitation".

Lyon celebrated an incredible milestone in the second match against England, playing his 100th consecutive Test match for Australia but it now unfortunately looks like he will not be adding to that number in this series.

The news comes as a big blow for Australia, who will lose one of the biggest influences from the memorable win in the first Test. Lyon bagged a four-wicket haul in each of the innings before playing a crucial role with the bat as Australia pulled off a 281-run chase in the fourth innings.

Lyon was seen chatting with Todd Murphy, the only other full-time spinner in the travelling squad, who could be in line for an Ashes debut in the next match.

The 22-year-old would be a like-for-like replacement as an off-spinner and was a revelation in the series against India earlier this year. Murphy started his Test career brightly with a seven-wicket haul in his debut innings and went on to scalp 14 wickets in total in the four Test matches.

Australia will take the final call on Lyon's involvement after the end of the ongoing Test at Lord's, with Mitchell Swepson and Matthew Kuhnemann leading contenders to replace the veteran spinner in the 18-member squad.

Travis Head too can be relied upon with his off-breaks, as he showed during the first session of Day 3 with the wickets of Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson. In spite of the absence of their lead spinner for the majority of their bowling innings, Australia managed to bag a handy 91-run lead after bowling England out for 325.