England’s hopes of winning another Ashes series on home soil are under threat after batsman, Kevin Pietersen, was ruled out of the spring competition with a right knee injury.

Pietersen, England’s talismanic number four, suffered the hurt during preparations for his side’s third and final Test with New Zealand, which begins on Thursday.

The 32-year-old is expected to be out for six to eight weeks, miss the Indian Premier League, and the start of the country cricket championship – an absence that could have a detrimental effect on his game heading into the international summer.

With England set to play a home series against the Kiwis before facing Australia, Pietersen will target that 16 May deadline as the date for his recovery.

However, there is still concern from cricket betting news outlets that he won’t be fit to face Australia later in the summer: a predicament that could leave England short in the batting order.

For Pietersen is the only real batsman England can rely upon to claw back a match-saving haul other than captain, Alastair Cook. Granted, Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott, and potentially Joe Root are solid at the crease but they lack that flair and persistence that make great batsmen stand out in Ashes series.

Cook proved it last time out against Australia with three centuries, while Pietersen managed a 227 haul in Adelaide the same series.

If England are to scalp an average yet improving Australian bowling attack they need Pietersen in their order. Root is a good number six but neither he nor Jonny Bairstow are strong and experienced enough to take up a more important role up the order.

Hopefully, KP will quickly recover from this injury and be back in the England set-up without a problem, but there will remain a lingering doubt in the minds of fans claiming their in-play bet offer regarding his fitness heading into a major summer of Test cricket. Many such offers can be found at sites featuring betting apps although England fans should be wary of being overly confident against any Australia team intent on reclaiming the old urn.