England spinner Jack Leach is to return home with immediate effect from England’s tour of South Africa.

The
Somerset left arm spinner, who has struggled to fully recover from sepsis he
picked up during the tour of New Zealand in November and was also struck with
gastroenteritis and flu ahead of the first Test at Centurion last month, has
not been able to reach the expected levels of fitness to be considered for
selection.

The
England medical team, in consultation with Leach, felt to recover fully it
would be beneficial for him to return to the United Kingdom. He will leave
South Africa on Thursday.

“It has
been an unfortunate time for Jack with illness and since the Test series in New
Zealand six weeks ago, he hasn’t been able to get 100 per cent fit,” said
England head coach Chris Silverwood.

“This has
hampered his preparation in South Africa and despite his best endeavours he is
not in a position to make himself available for selection for the final two
Test matches.

“He is a
great lad to have around the squad and his infectious personality and
popularity will be missed. However, his focus has to be getting himself better
and receiving the optimum levels of recovery and treatment, which is best
served back in England without any distractions.

“I have no doubt that
he will return to full fitness in the medium-term and hopefully he will recover
in time for our tour of Sri Lanka in March.”