England fast bowler Mark Wood has been ruled out of the upcoming third Test against India due to a shoulder injury.
Wood hurt his right shoulder during the second Test that was held at Lords Cricket Ground in London. On the fourth day of the match, the right-armer had dived to save a boundary and had injured his shoulder.
Wood will stay with the rest of the team in Leeds and shall undergo rehabilitation. The 31-year-old was one of the crucial bowlers for the hosts in the second Test, where he picked up five wickets.
No replacement has been called up to provide cover for the fast bowler as Saqib Mahmood, and Craig Overton are already in the squad. James Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Sam Curran are the other seamers in the English outfit.
“Wood sustained the injury on the fourth day of the second Test at Lord’s and will not be fit to play at Emerald Headingley starting on Wednesday,” said England and Wales Cricket (ECB) in a statement.
“He will remain with the squad in Leeds and will continue his rehab with the England medical team. The 31-year-old will be assessed at the end of this Test match,” the statement added.
Notably, Wood is the fifth England seamer ruled out of either a match or the Test series against India through injury. Earlier, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Olly Stone have all been ruled out from the series. Similarly, Ben Stokes was unavailable after taking a break from the game, citing mental health issues.
However, Chris Woakes, who was also not taken into consideration for the India series due to injury, could return to the squad. Woakes was recently named in Warwickshire‘s second XI squad to play their next game against Worcestershire second XI of the ongoing Second Eleven Championship, starting on August 23 at New Road in Worcester.
