England batsman Marcus Trescothick is returning home from the Ashes tour of Australia after suffering a recurrence of a stress-related illness.

Trescothick flew out of Sydney on Tuesday night, just nine days before the start of the first Ashes test, after the England medical staff agreed he should return home.

"Following discussions between Marcus and the England medical staff, it was decided that Marcus should fly home at the earliest opportunity," head coach Duncan Fletcher said in a statement issued by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

"We are naturally disappointed to lose a player of his quality from our Ashes squad and everyone in the dressing room hopes that he is able to make a full recovery and resume his cricketing career."

Trescothick, 30, also quit England's tour of India earlier this year because of stress and was troubled by the problem during England's domestic summer despite scoring a century in the first test against Sri Lanka at Lord's.

The left-handed opener also missed the recent Champions Trophy in India but declared himself available for Australia, telling Reuters last week he was looking forward to the pressure-cooker atmosphere of an Ashes series.

"Since we won the Ashes back in England last time this is what everyone's been waiting to see again," he said. "Everyone looks to see these hard contests and the pressures you get put under."

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Trescothick has played 76 tests for England, scoring 5,825 runs at an average of 43.79, with a highest score of 219. He scored 431 at 43.10 on the last Ashes tour with a series best of 90.

Trescothick made a poor start to the current tour, scoring two runs in the opening match against the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra on Friday, then eight in the second game against New South Wales, which ended on Tuesday.

He also dropped a regulation catch at first slip against NSW but there was no indication from management that anything was wrong and Trescothick was about to leave the tour until Tuesday's statement.

His sudden departure is another blow to England's prospects of retaining the Ashes after captain Michael Vaughan and pace bowler Simon Jones were ruled out through injury.

Vaughan is hoping to recover in time to play in the third test in Perth but will not be available for the first test, starting in Brisbane on November 23.

The ECB said the management would hold urgent talks on Wednesday to choose a replacement with several players already on standby at a training camp in Perth.

But with just one more three-day match to play before the first Test, the most likely scenario for Brisbane is that Alastair Cook will be promoted to open the batting, leaving Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood in the middle order.

"I have a feeling everyone realised this was a possibility and the situation has now arisen. Cook could be the obvious choice," former England captain Ian Botham told Sky Sports News.