Mark Wood is reeling from another injury blow – although it comes with the consolation of solving the mystery of his latest ankle problem.
The Durham and England quick had already been ruled out of the one-day and Test series in Bangladesh, and now his hopes of playing on the subsequent tour of India have been scuppered by the discovery that he fractured a bone in his left ankle when bowling in a Specsavers County Championship match against Surrey last month.
It means Wood will need a third operation on the ankle inside 12 months.
But according to England’s National Physiotherapy Lead Ben Langley, that comes as some reassurance after the concerns since the ankle flared up during the Surrey game.
“Woody showed his commitment to Durham with the way he bowled 35 overs in that Surrey game, and we know now that he also showed a hell of a lot of courage and resilience,” said Langley.
“His foot and ankle swelled up hugely during the game, which was obviously worrying, and then we were perplexed when nothing significant showed up on the first scan.
“It was only when we got him in for a second scan that we discovered he’d been playing on despite having fractured a bone.
“So it’s a different injury to what he’s had the previous surgery for, and there’s no reason to think that when he’s had this bone fragment removed, he won’t be able to get back to bowling as well he has for Durham, England Lions and England in the second half of the 2016 summer.”
Wood has been awarded a central Test contract by England for 2016-17.