England bowler Mark Wood faces a nervous wait to see if the elbow injury that has ruled him out for the rest of the year is a stress fracture.
Wood has not played since the first Test against Sri Lanka in August and had already been told he would not be fit for the winter tours of Pakistan and New Zealand before Christmas.
The 34-year-old quick was initially sidelined with a minor groin complaint and only had soreness in his right elbow checked as a precaution, given previous problems in the joint. England later said he would play no further cricket in 2024 due to a ‘bone stress injury’ – carefully avoiding any reference to a break.
But Wood, commentating for BBC Radio’s Test Match Special during the third match of the Metro Bank ODI series at Durham, revealed that specialists were still attempting to get to the bottom of the issue.
He is set to have a new scan this week, when the extent of the problem should become clearer.
“It was a bizarre injury. I had a bit of a groin tweak and went for a scan with a stiff elbow, which is not uncommon for a fast bowler,” he said.
“I was thinking I might need an injection which would give me a perfect time period with having the groin injury. When I was having the scan the doctor looked a little bit concerned and said, ‘you better get this checked a little more’. They said I have some bone stress in my elbow… I must have been playing with it.
“They were worried it would be a stress fracture but I have got to see a specialist in another few days to determine that.”
With a hint of his customary humour, Wood offered an optimistic prognosis for his rehabilitation.
“There is nothing I can really do on my right side, I have been told to stop picking my kids up with my right arm,” he explained.
“I have to do everything with my left, so I’m hoping I am going to come back like (Rafael) Nadal with one big left arm and a skinny right arm.”
The idea that Wood was carrying a serious injury while playing this summer is all the more remarkable given the pace and hostility he bowled with against the West Indies in July, at one stage clocking a lightning fast top speed of 97.1mph.