London, July 22: England batsman Kevin Pietersen will miss the remaining three Ashes Tests against Australia after undergoing surgery on his Achilles tendon, the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed on Wednesday.

Pietersen has struggled with the problem throughout the opening two Tests of the Ashes series and, after being assessed by a leading specialist on Wednesday, it was decided that surgery was the best option.

The 29-year-old has been ruled out for six weeks and he admitted it was massive blow to be sidelined while England, who lead the series 1-0 after winning the second Test at Lord’s, try to regain the Ashes.

"As an England cricketer the Ashes are the pinnacle of the game so I’m absolutely devastated to be missing the rest of this series," Pietersen said.

"Up until now the Achilles injury has been manageable but it recently reached the point where we needed to look at other options in terms of treatment.

"I hate missing matches for England and especially during an Ashes summer but now that the decision has been made to undergo surgery I’m confident I can return to the England team injury-free following a course of rehabilitation."

Pietersen, whose top score in the series was just 69, had hoped to play through the pain barrier for the rest of the series, but ECB chief medical officer Nick Peirce admitted it was impossible to expect him to produce top-class performances while he was in so much discomfort.

"Following a consultation, involving scans and testing, with the world’s leading Achilles specialist Kevin Pietersen underwent surgery on his right Achilles tendon," Peirce said in an ECB statement. — AFP