A limping Mark Wood made his way back to the pavilion during the third day of the first Test match against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford. It was the last thing England would have wanted after seeing their captain picking an injury earlier. However, the news the management as well as the English players very much dreaded came and confirmed that the injury Mark Wood picked has decided to elongate its stay. The Durham quick has been sidelined for the remaining red-ball fixtures of this year owing to a bone-stress injury to the elbow of his bowling arm.
His withdrawal from the Old Trafford Test first and eventually from the Test series as a whole came following a strain he felt in his right thigh. Naturally, the news of a stress injury in his right elbow came as a surprise to Wood himself too. Confirming the news through one of his Instagram posts, the English pacer wrote,
“Right, some pretty rubbish news. During what I thought was a routine check on a previously troublesome elbow, I was shocked to learn I’ve got some bone stress in my right elbow.”
The right-arm bowler mentioned that he had ruled the irritation in his elbow out as some ‘normal niggles’, however, the scans revealed something more grim and serious.
“After the minor groin injury at Emirates Old Trafford, me and the medical team felt it was a good time to get my elbow looked at as it was a bit irritated. I’d put that down to the normal niggles every fast bowler gets and which I was playing through. I’m especially surprised because I’ve been playing Test cricket and kept my speeds up.”
He further quoted Ben Stokes’ golden words that injuries are ‘part of being a fast bowler’.
“I work incredibly hard on my fitness, putting in extra work with coaches and physios making this even more disappointing. However, I guess this is, “part of being a fast bowler”, like Stokesy says. I will miss the rest of the year needing time to rest and build up, fully expecting to be back and firing in early 2025. I have been down this path before and will put in all the hard yards behind the scenes. I am very proud to represent my country and there is no better feeling. See you for some rockets in 2025!”
After England cap off their home red-ball season, the Three Lions will tour Pakistan for a three-match Test series in October, followed by a Test tour of New Zealand which will begin in late November. Olly Stone, who was called to fill-in for Wood during the Lord’s Test match, is likely to carry on playing this role during the remaining tours of this year as well. Besides Stone, Josh Hull, whose debut during the third Test match against Sri Lanka made many headlines, will be raring to have a go at the opposition in the matches to come.
As for Mark Wood, he will work with the England Cricket Board (ECB) medical team to ensure that he is good to make a comeback for England’s red-ball tour of India in early 2025 as well as the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. By no means would England and Wood be fond of missing any of these tours.
