Katich out of series with Achilles injury

Adelaide:

Experienced Australian opening batsman Simon Katich is out of the remainder of the Ashes series with an Achilles tendon injury.

The 55-Test batsman aggravated the injury during Australia's 11-hour fielding stint in England's first innings 620 for five declared and received the bad news after scans.

"I went into this Test feeling fine but unfortunately having spent that amount of time out in the field and chasing the balls that I did, it got to the point where it was pretty unbearable to just even be walking around," he said.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting said Katich's injury was a "big loss".

"He has been one of the leading openers in international cricket, certainly in Test cricket, since he forced his way back into the team," Ponting said.

"His record I'm sure would stack up against most other opening batsmen around the world."

Phillip Hughes is in line for his first Test since last March as Katich's likely replacement for the third Perth Test.