England bowler Jofra Archer has been ruled out of next month's three-match Twenty20 series against South Africa because of soreness to his right elbow.

The troublesome injury meant Sussex's Archer missed the final three Tests against the Proteas and while he was set to be rested for the upcoming one-day international series between the teams, he was expected to come back for the T20s.

However, his focus is now on getting back to full fitness after returning to the United Kingdom on Tuesday evening, with England announcing his place in the squad has gone to Saqib Mahmood.

The news is a blow for England, who are steadily building towards the T20 World Cup which gets under way in October in Australia, where Archer's ability to generate extreme pace and bounce would be invaluable assets.

It has been a challenging winter for Archer, who followed up a remarkable summer last year by averaging 47 in his first three overseas Tests - although he did sign off with a five-wicket haul in Centurion before injury struck.

Archer's absence allowed fellow fast bowler Mark Wood to come to the fore, the Durham man taking career-best match figures of nine for 100 in Johannesburg to seal a 3-1 win, although it is hoped they will be able to play a Test in tandem at some stage, having shone together during England's World Cup triumph last year.

The nerve-shredding final against New Zealand at Lord's last July was England's most recent ODI so their series-opener against South Africa at Cape Town next Tuesday will be their first as world champions.