Jack Leach to fly home from South Africa as it is revealed he has battled sepsis and gastroenteritis this winter

Leach has been laid low by a series of viruses over the course of the winter, with gastroenteritis and flu ruling him out of the first game against South Africa at Centurion on Boxing Day

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Jack Leach is to fly home from South Africa after failing to fully recover from the illness which has kept him out of England's Test tour to date, as it is revealed that the spinner suffered from sepsis during the trip to New Zealand before Christmas.

Leach has been laid low by a series of viruses over the course of the winter, with gastroenteritis and flu ruling him out of the first game against South Africa at Centurion on Boxing Day.

He then missed out on the second Test, in Cape Town, and the decision has since been made to send the Somerset man back to the UK in an effort to give him time to recover.

Leach suffers from Crohn's disease, the treatment of which includes the prescription of immune supression drugs, which makes dealing with illness more tricky than it otherwise might.

During the two-Test tour of New Zealand, he was hospitalised in Hamilton. At the time, England management said he was dealing with gastroenteritis, but it has now emerged that the situation was much worse and Leach was suffering from sepsis - a potentially life-threatening illness caused by the body's response to an infection.

“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.

^{Dom Bess is set to fill in for Jack Leach once again at Port Elizabeth}

“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.”

Leach will aim to be fit for the trip to Sri Lanka in March, where England will want to field at least two spinners.

He is due to fly home on Thursday.

Leach is the third member of the initial touring squad to be forced to leave the trip to South Africa within the first month.

Rory Burns returned to the UK last week for surgery on ankle ligament damage sustained during a game of football ahead of the second Test, while Jimmy Anderson was forced out of the tour having suffered a rib injury at Newlands.

Dom Bess is expected to keep his place for the third Test - due to start at Port Elizabeth on Thursday - having been parachuted into the touring group when Leach went down with flu before Christmas.

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