Ashley Giles has been ruled out of the final two Tests against Australia, after failing to recover from a fractured wrist.

Giles was struck on the left wrist by Steve Harmison during practice for the second Test at Adelaide, but he was still hopeful of returning after Christmas for the matches in Melbourne and Sydney. But, following a meeting with specialists two days ago, it was confirmed that the injury had not healed as quickly as originally hoped.

Dr Peter Gregory, the ECB's chief medical officer, said: "The original medical advice was that the injury would take between three to six weeks to heal and this remains the case. He re-visits a specialist on 24 December and, depending on the outcome of this meeting, I hope he will be fit and available for selection for the remainder of the VB Series in the New Year."

Giles was understandably disappointed: "I had set my hopes on playing the Boxing Day Test and the New Year's Test because they are huge occasions, but the injury has dragged on longer than I'd hoped."

The selectors will decide over the next days whether to call for a replacement, especially with the Sydney Test in mind, where two spinners are likely to be required. Richard Dawson has impressed with his temperament in his two Tests of the series, while Ian Blackwell and Gareth Batty are both currently playing in the VB series. Another option would be Northamptonshire's Monty Panesar, who is on standby at the National Academy in Adelaide.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd