England fast bowler Mark Wood has disclosed that he may need another operation on his elbow following a setback in his recovery. The 32-year-old fast suffered the original injury in March of this year when on tour in the West Indies.
He, therefore, missed the IPL, where he was scheduled to play for the Lucknow Super Giants and has been out of action since. On Saturday (July 16), he played club cricket for Ashington, which served as an unofficial fitness test of sorts, although Wood did not recover well.
Wood is now in a race against time to have a second operation and finish the necessary rehabilitation regimen before the 2022 T20 World Cup begins in Australia in mid-October. Injuries have already cost the 2010 champions several fast bowlers, notably Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes, and Saqib Mahmood.
“I’m struggling to be honest. I need another operation, unfortunately,” Wood told Sky Sports during the broadcast of England’s first ODI against South Africa.
“I’d been bowling well for two or three weeks in the nets, but when it came to the match, it wasn’t so much during the game but the day after. So my elbow is really sore now and I’m struggling to fully straighten it again. So there must be something going on. It’s weird because my ankle feels like a real injury, this doesn’t feel like a real injury to me, my elbow, it’s just been a nuisance.”
