England fast-bowler Mark Wood has been ruled out for likely the entirety of England's Test match summer after sustaining ligament damage to his left knee during the Champions Trophy.
Mark Wood ruled out for four months
Wood underwent surgery this week which confirmed the damage. He has been ruled-out of cricket for the next four months, with his return targeted for the end of July. The injury will likely preclude his involvement in England's Test series against India, the final Test match of which will begin on July 31.
A statement from the ECB clarified that Wood has been managing an ongoing issue with his knee for over a year, but that discomfort flared up during England's Champions Trophy group stage game against Afghanistan. In the match in question, Wood bowled the first 3.4 overs of his spell before requiring treatment from the physio, revealing heavy strapping on his left knee. After completing his fourth over, he left the field to receive treatment.
Mark Wood experienced discomfort in his left knee ligament during the Champions Trophy and will miss four months of cricket.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) March 13, 2025
He is targeting a return by the end of July. pic.twitter.com/q9ozIfX3BD
After rejoining the field later in the innings. Wood went on to bowl four more overs, but looked to still be struggling with knee pain and fell over multiple times in his follow through. He finished with figures of 0-50 off eight overs. England lost the match against Afghanistan by eight runs, with the result knocking them out of the Champions Trophy.
Wood: Confident that I'll be back
In a statement, Wood said: “I’m gutted to be out for so long after representing England across all formats since the start of last year. 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.”
This latest injury is a latest in a long series of absences for Wood, who was ruled out of action for England's Test tours of Pakistan and New Zealand last year with an elbow injury. That came after he was withdrawn from the final Test of the 2024 summer against Sri Lanka with a right thigh strain.
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