England fast bowler Mark Wood said Friday it was “rubbish news” he had been ruled out for the rest of the year with a right elbow injury. The 34-year-old express quick had already been sidelined from the concluding two matches of England’s three-Test series against Sri Lanka after suffering a right thigh muscle strain while bowling in the series opener at Old Trafford.
But Friday’s statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board said Wood, a key member of England’s squad as they build towards next year’s Ashes in Australia despite a career blighted by ankle and back problems, had noticed increasing stiffness and discomfort in his elbow during the Test series against the West Indies earlier in the season.
It added Wood had “managed the discomfort” while bowling in Manchester, where England won by five wickets in a Sri Lanka series they are now looking to wrap up with a 3-0 clean sweep in the ongoing third Test at the Oval.
Wood will now miss England’s upcoming three-Test tours of both Pakistan in October and New Zealand in December. “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,” Wood wrote on Instagram.
“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.”
He added: “I work incredibly hard on my fitness, putting in extra work with coaches and physios making this even more disappointing. I will miss the rest of the year, needing time to rest and build up, (I’m) 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!”
The ECB said Wood would aim to return in time for England’s white-ball tour of India and the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan, scheduled to begin in February 2025.