Mark Wood expected to miss England’s Tests against India after knee surgery | England cricket team | The Guardian
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Mark Wood is likely to miss the entirety of England’s Test series with India this summer after undergoing surgery on his left knee.

The quick has been ruled out for four months and is aiming to be fully fit by the end of July. England’s fifth and final Test against India begins on 31 July at the Oval, rounding off their red-ball commitments before the winter Ashes tour.

Wood was in visible discomfort when  in the Champions Trophy in February, battling to get through eight overs as England fell to an eight-run defeat and were knocked out of the tournament. A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board said Wood “has been managing an ongoing issue with his knee for over a year”.



Wood remained at home during the Champions Trophy, not performing his best bowling in the match, which ended in defeat. He was ruled out of the remainder of the 2024 season due to an elbow injury, which was a common problem for Wood.

It means another disrupted summer for Wood, a career of bowling at 90mph inviting plenty of damage to the body, too. He played three Tests last summer but did not feature after the series opener against Sri Lanka in August, an elbow injury ruling him out of the remainder of 2024. He returned for white-ball assignments in India and Pakistan at the start of this year but must now undergo another period of rehabilitation because of ligament damage.

Wood remains England’s quickest asset at the age of 35 and should still be in high demand for the Ashes at the end of the year. He found individual success when England lost 4-0 on the 2021-22 tour of Australia, finishing the series with 17 wickets at 26.65, and was crucial at home against the same opposition a year and a half later, taking 14 wickets in three Tests.

“I’m gutted to be out for so long after representing England across all formats since the start of last year,” said Wood. “But I’ve got every confidence that I’ll be back firing on all cylinders now that I’ve been able to sort my knee out.

“I want to thank the surgeon, the doctors, staff, my England teammates and coaches for their support – and, of course, our fans. I can’t wait to get back and contribute to what is going to be a huge 2025 for us as a team.”



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Wood was not the only English seamer to suffer during the Champions Trophy as a toe injury prematurely ended Brydon Carse’s campaign. The 29-year-old will miss this year’s Indian Premier League, with South African’s Wiaan Mulder named as his replacement at Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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