Kevin Pietersen says "superstar" Ben Stokes missing the rest of England's Test series against Sri Lanka is a "big blow" for the player.
England prepare for the second Test at the Emirates Riverside on Friday without Stokes, who will miss out on playing at his county home ground, as well as the third and final Test at Lord's on June 9, after aggravating a knee injury in England's first-Test win at Headingley.
The loss of Stokes is seen as a significant blow for England, with Sky Sports pundit Dominic Cork saying "England will miss him".
And Pietersen, who scored more than 8,000 runs in 104 Tests for England, believes Stokes' absence will be a huge loss, who he says is one of the country's finest players.
"It's a big blow for Ben Stokes, he's a wonderful player, a superstar, and he's going to do some great things for England," Pietersen told Sky Sports News HQ.
"He's going to play stupid shots and get out in silly ways, but he's going to add a lot more pleasure to people watching the game than he is anything else."
"I fully support and endorse the way he plays his cricket and it's just sad that he's going to be missing out."
Pietersen feels Stokes' game is a similar style to his own in the way that he likes to entertain spectators.
"I didn't give two hoots out about the way I got out and the manner in which I got out, I repeated mistakes but I was out there to entertain and whack the ball," he added.
Pietersen does not think Sri Lanka, who lost by an innings and 88 runs in the first Test, will pose as great a challenge as Pakistan, who tour England later this summer.
"With Pakistan you can't write them off yet because their bowling attack is ridiculous," Pietersen said.
"I've faced some of them and I played in the PSL [Pakistan Super League] in Dubai and there are wonderful players in there.
"That will hopefully be more competitive then the Sri Lankan series but [I still think] England win."