Mark Wood, England's fastest bowler, will miss the forthcoming Test tours of Pakistan and New Zealand, after being ruled out for the rest of the year due to a bone-stress injury to his right elbow.
Wood was withdrawn from the ongoing Sri Lanka series as a precaution, after suffering a right thigh strain while bowling during the first Test at Old Trafford. However, he subsequently underwent what he had hoped was a routine elbow scan, after feeling discomfort in the joint, and admitted in an Instagram post that he had received some "pretty rubbish news".
"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 wrote.
As a result, he will miss England's final six Tests of the year, three each against Pakistan in October and New Zealand in December.
He will continue to work closely with the ECB medical team in the meantime, with the aim of returning to full fitness by early 2025, in time for England's white-ball tour of India and the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan, which is scheduled to begin in February 2025.
Wood's surprise at his diagnosis comes in the wake of some of the fastest bowling of his international career. During the Trent Bridge Test against West Indies in July, he hit a top speed of 97.1mph in an electrifying performance that culminated in a broken forearm for Kevin Sinclair, and had his captain, Ben Stokes, predicting he would break the 100mph before his career is done.
Though he went relatively under-rewarded in that performance, he closed out the series with 5 for 40 at Edgbaston, his first five-wicket haul in a home Test. However, he bowled just 18.2 overs across two innings against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, before he was withdrawn from the action.
"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," Wood added in his Instagram post. "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.
"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.
"I will miss the rest of the year needing time to rest and build up, fully expecting to be back and firing in early 2025. I have been down this path before and will put in all the hard yards behind the scenes. I am very proud to represent my country and there is no better feeling. See you for some rockets in 2025!"
In Wood's absence, Olly Stone was recalled for last week's Lord's Test, his first Test since undergoing back surgery three years ago, with Josh Hull, the 20-year-old left-arm seamer, making his debut in the ongoing third Test at The Oval.