London, July 23: England batsman Graham Thorpe has been ruled out of next week's third Ashes Test match against Australia at Trent Bridge with a cracked bone in his right hand, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Monday.

The Surrey left-hander, who sustained the injury from a Brett Lee delivery in the second Test defeat at Lord's this weekend, is expected to be out of action for around three weeks.

Thorpe, who returned to the England Test side after a six-week lay-off with a troublesome calf strain, failed to take the field as Australia reached their victory target of 14 to complete an eight-wicket triumph and take a 2-0 lead in the five-Test series.