England pacer Mark Wood might make an appearance in the ongoing red-ball series between India and England, albeit only in the last Test game. Wood, who underwent surgery on his knee in March, was forced out of competitive cricket for four months, which essentially ruled him out of the now-known Anderson-Tendulkar series.
Things turned for the worse for him during England’s Champions Trophy fixture against Afghanistan in February, where he had to limp off the field four deliveries into his fourth over. He tried to continue bowling, returning after a brief break, but was eventually forced out and remained sidelined with a heavily strapped leg before flying to England for further scans, which revealed medial ligament damage in his left knee. Following the scans, he underwent surgery in London.
However, Wood is hopeful, if things keep going well, he could be in to play the final Test of the series, at the Kia Oval on July 31. He is scheduled to make a return to competitive cricket by featuring in an away game for Durham in their County Championship campaign.
“Rehab is going well,” Wood said, speaking to BBC Test Match Special. “I’ve just started bowling very lightly, so I’m on the comeback trail now officially.
“I’m hoping still to play a part in this series, so I get to have a look at some of the players here who I might come up against. I’m still targeting probably the last Test. Anything before that is maybe a bit too soon. The last Test, I might not get there, but at the minute, that’s still my focus that I might play a part.
“It’s been a bit slow [coming back] to start with. I haven’t been able to do a lot, but starting to speed up now, getting some bowling in, hopefully not too much longer. [I am] still hoping that I can play a part right at the end of the series, but I’ll just wait and see.”
England’s fast-bowling concerns came to the fore after the long-standing fast-bowling duo, Stuart Broad and James Anderson, retired last year. Currently, they are running low on their fast bowling stocks due to injury concerns. In the opening Test match of the series, they had to rely on Brydon Carse, who had four Test caps at the time and had only ever bowled as a change bowler, to share the new ball with Chris Woakes.
Besides Wood, English pacer Gus Atkinson, who pulled a hamstring during the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, and Olly Stone, who also underwent knee surgery after feeling discomfort in his right knee during Nottinghamshire’s pre-season tour of Abu Dhabi, were both unavailable for the first Test against India.
While Atkinson might slot in for England in the second game, which begins on July 2, Stone was advised to take a 14-week break in April and is all but ruled out of the tour.
Adding to this is England’s cautious approach to preserve Jofra Archer after his continuous fight with back and elbow fractures since 2021. His return for the second Test seems to be definitely on the cards, and if that happens, it will be his first Test in four years.
