Sydney: Fast bowler Mark Wood will play no further part in the Ashes tour and is to fly home from Australia at the weekend, England announced Tuesday.
Wood, 35, returned to action in the first Test in Perth after surgery kept him out for eight months, only to miss the second match in Brisbane after his left knee flared up again. “Wood will return home later this week and will work closely with the ECB medical team on his rehabilitation and recovery,” said an England statement.
Wood said he was “gutted” in a lengthy post on social media. “After extensive surgery and months of work and rehab to get back into the Test arena, my knee just hasn´t held up,” he said. Wood will be replaced in the squad by Matthew Fisher, 28, who won his only Test cap on a tour of the West Indies in 2022.
Fisher has been with the second-string England Lions squad in Australia. “None of us expected this,” said Wood, whose absence will be a big blow to England who are already 2-0 down in the five-match series.
“I came here with high expectations about making a big impact. “I´m desperately disappointed that despite yet more injections and intensive medical treatment it has become clear that the flare up in my knee is worse than feared.”
It could signal the end of a 10-year Test career for Wood, one of the quickest bowlers ever to play for England. But Wood said he would try to come back. “It has been a tough road these past few months but I remain determined to give it another proper go,” said Wood, who was an Ashes winner with England at home in 2015.
His career has been blighted by injuries and the Perth Test ended a 15-month absence from Test cricket, first because of an elbow injury, then the knee. Wood bowled only 11 overs in Perth without taking a wicket. Australia earlier announced that their fast bowling spearhead Josh Hazlewood would miss the whole of the Ashes series after sitting out the first two Tests with injury.
