🔗 Share this article Fast bowler Gus Atkinson Exacerbates the English team's Injury Concerns. 'Serious blow' for England as Atkinson leaves the field due to a hamstring issue. Gus Atkinson further complicated the injury concerns plaguing England when he left the ground on the second morning of the Boxing Day Test versus the Australians. The pace bowler experienced discomfort in his left hamstring post-delivery that he bowled at the MCG. Team management stated Atkinson had experienced "tightness" and would spend time off the field for further assessment "during the day". The final Test in this Ashes battle beginning on 4 January starts at the end of the week. The English side has previously lost fast bowlers one seamer with a knee problem and Jofra Archer because of a side injury on this Ashes tour. Matthew Fisher was brought into the squad to provide backup. Atkinson struggled in the opening two Tests, managing only a handful of scalps. He was dropped from the previous Test, only to be brought back for the Boxing Day match to fill the void. Atkinson performed better in the fourth Test, taking two wickets with the ball, then making 28 while batting as one of just three teammates to get into double digits. Following a brief spell late on the first day, he resumed the next day and removed Scott Boland taken by the wicketkeeper. Yet, at the end of that over, he delivered a slower ball to the batsman and suddenly grabbed at his leg. Atkinson was recalled for the fourth Ashes Test following his omission the previous Test.