"Pietersen is returning home on Tuesday evening due to a rib cage problem and would miss the remaining three one-day internationals against Pakistan," England media manager James Evory told AFP.

Pietersen, who starred in England's Ashes win over Australia in September this year, played a brisk knock of 56 in England's 42-run win in the first of five one-day internationals in Lahore on Saturday.

Pakistan levelled the series with a comfortable seven-wicket win in the second match, also played in Lahore on Monday.

The remaining three matches are scheduled for Karachi (Thursday) and the last two at Rawalpindi on Saturday and Monday.

England is without their regular captain Michael Vaughan who was ruled out of the one-day series after he was advised to have surgery on his injured right knee.

They also missed left-arm spinner Ashley Giles in the one-day series who suffered a recurrence of a hip injury which forced him to return home before the third Test against Pakistan.