"I have been told to stop picking my kids up with my right arm" - Mark Wood opens up on his elbow injury
England pacer Mark Wood has said that he has been advised to stop performing any activity on the right side after being ruled out for the rest of the year due to a right elbow injury. The 34-year-old played in the first Test of the home series against Sri Lanka before being sidelined by a groin injury.
However, scans revealed the elbow injury, ruling him out of the upcoming Pakistan tour and the subsequent New Zealand away Tests at the end of the year.
Speaking on the BBC’s Test Match Special, Wood provided an update on the injury, saying:
"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. I have to do everything with my left. 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. I was thinking I might need an injection, which would give me a perfect time period with having the groin injury."
He added:
"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."
Wood previously had surgery on his elbow two years back in 2022 and his recovery will be key to England's 2025-26 Ashes Down Under.
Mark Wood was in red-hot bowling form before the injury
Mark Wood was in excellent form with the ball during England's Test summer before the right elbow injury. The veteran pacer missed the first West Indies Test but played the final two outings of the series.
After a sub-par showing in the second Test at Nottingham with only two wickets, Wood was at his intimidating best in the series finale at Edgbaston. Following figures of 2/52 in the first innings, the speedster blew the West Indies away with a 5/40 display in the second innings to help England complete the 3-0 whitewash.
He picked up a wicket in both innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka to help England win a fourth consecutive game to start the summer. However, his absence in the final two Sri Lanka Tests proved costly as the visitors won the third Test by eight wickets in a stunning result.