Khawaja ruled out of remainder of World Cup

Khawaja picked up the hamstring injury during the chase against South Africa. © Getty

Usman Khawaja, who suffered a hamstring injury during Australia's final round-robin clash against South Africa, has been ruled out of the remainder of the ICC Cricket World Cup, 2019. Coach Justin Langer, on Sunday (July 7), confirmed that Khawaja will be out of action for at least three to four weeks, forcing him out of the semifinal clash against England in Birmingham on Thursday, with the emphasis now on the left-hander attempting to regain fitness ahead of the Ashes.

"Ussie's got a hamstring strain so he'll be out for probably three to four weeks which is a real shame but we have to work hard on getting him up for the Ashes now," Langer said. "Such a pity for him, he's been so integral to how we've been playing. Like Shaun [Marsh] I feel sad for him that he's going to miss the World Cup semi-final."

Khawaja, who came in at No. 3 during Australia's chase of 326 against South Africa, picked up the injury five deliveries into his innings and had to retire hurt. He later came back to bat when Australia were seven down and needed 51. Having earlier scored six runs, he added 12 more to the tally before being dismissed by Kagiso Rabada. Australia lost the match by 10 runs and finished second on the points table, as a result of which they'll face the hosts in the second semifinal.

Australia brought in Matthew Wade as cover for the injured Khawaja and will now await the approval of the ICC's Event Technical Committee to include him officially in the squad. Wade has been in fine touch as he amassed 355 runs in four one-day innings, including a berserk hundred off 45 balls against Derbyshire, on the A tour earlier.

Australia are also sweating on the fitness of all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, who picked up a side strain in the same game. While Mitchell Marsh has been called up as cover, a final decision on Stonis will be taken in 24-48 hours. This is the second time in this tournament that Stoinis picked up a side strain and Mitchell Marsh was asked to join as cover. Stoinis had earlier missed the game against Pakistan and Sri Lanka due to the same reason but managed to pass a fitness test ahead of the game against Bangladesh. Mitchell Marsh, meanwhile, has managed scores of 40, 29, 53 and 4 - all four unbeaten knocks - for Australia A.

"Marcus is the same, got another strain in his other side actually so we are working through that at the moment and we'll have to make a decision on him in the next 24 to 48 hours," said Langer. "Not in the final XI yet but Matthew Wade is coming up. He's in great form, he's had a great 12 or so months back home but he's also just scored two hundreds in one-day cricket so he's in great nick. And Mitch Marsh is going to come on standby for Stoinis to see how he comes up.

"Of course it's frustrating but it's also the business we're in, it's sport and all the teams have had injuries. You never like to have injuries at any time, let alone at the business end but it's ok, we'll deal with it. I've said all along we'll keep dealing with it, we've dealt with it for the last 12 months. In all circumstances, and as difficult as it is for the boys in the team, we'll deal with it," Langer added.

Earlier in the tournament, Shaun Marsh had also been ruled out of the World Cup after suffering a fractured arm, with Peter Handscomb replacing him in the squad.