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The fastest bowler for England, Mark Wood, has been ruled out for the remainder of the year with a bone-stress injury to his right elbow. As a result, he will miss the upcoming Test tours to Pakistan and New Zealand.
As a precaution, Wood was taken out of the current Sri Lanka series when he pulled his right thigh during a bowling match during the first Test at Old Trafford. He later shared on Instagram that he had received some “pretty rubbish news” and that he had undergone what he had hoped to be a routine elbow scan after experiencing joint soreness.
“During what I thought was routine check on a previously troublesome elbow, I was shocked to learn I’ve got some bone stress in my right elbow,” Wood wrote.
With the goal of getting back to full fitness by early 2025, in time for England’s white-ball tour of India and the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan, which is set to start in February 2025, he will continue to train closely with the ECB medical staff in the interim.
Wood had some of his quickest bowling of his international career, so you can imagine his surprise at receiving this diagnosis. In July, during the Trent Bridge Test match against the West Indies, he achieved a maximum speed of 97.1 mph in a thrilling display that resulted in Kevin Sinclair breaking his forearm. Ben Stokes, the captain of the team, predicted that he would surpass 100 mph before his career ended.
“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,” Wood added in his Instagram post. “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.
“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!”