England fast bowler Mark Wood has been ruled out for the rest of the year due to a bone-stress injury to his right elbow.

The 34-year-old “had noticed increasing stiffness and discomfort in his elbow” during the two-match Test series against the West Indies, as per a media release from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He subsequently suffered an injury to his right thigh during the first Test against Sri Lanka.

Wood is, however, recovering well from the thigh injury which had initially ruled him out of the rest of the summer. He revealed that the extent of his injury came to light during his recent routine check-up.

“During what I thought was routine check on a previously troublesome elbow, I was shocked to learn I’ve got some bone stress in my right elbow,” Wood said in his post.

“After the minor groin injury at Emirates Old Trafford, me and the medical team felt it was a good time to get my elbow looked at as it was a bit irritated. I’d put that down to the normal niggles every fast bowler gets and which I was playing through.

“I’m especially surprised because I’ve been playing Test cricket and kept my speeds up,” he said. “I work incredibly hard on my fitness, putting in extra work with coaches and physios making this even more disappointing. However, I guess this is, ‘part of being a fast bowler’, like Stokesy says.”

The England fast bowler is keen to make a return in early 2025 and is set to put in all the hard yards on his way to recovery.