Mark Wood out of Sri Lanka tour with side strain
Wood picked up the injury at the end of England's tour to South Africa, during which he played two Tests and all three T20Is. In all, he picked up 16 wickets across the five games, with nine of them coming in the final Test in Johannesburg.
Following his return from South Africa, scans showed a small tear in his left side.
BREAKING: Mark Wood has been ruled out of England's tour to Sri Lanka with a side strain 🤕 pic.twitter.com/rGafnnZbrO
— ICC (@ICC) February 28, 2020
His replacement, Mahmood, is yet to make his Test debut, though made his ODI debut during the South Africa tour earlier this month, and played in three T20Is during England's five-match series in New Zealand in November 2019.
The squad are due to fly out to Sri Lanka on Monday 2 March, with the first Test scheduled to begin on Thursday 19 March in Galle. The two-match series will be played as part of the ICC World Test Championship, marking the first time the sides have met in the tournament.