England pacer Mark Wood expected to miss first Test against Pakistan due to hip injury

England pacer Mark Wood’s availability for the first Test match against Pakistan in Rawalpindi is doubtful as he is still recovering from a hip injury. He sustained the injury during the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 which eventually forced him to miss the semifinal and the big final as the Three Lions emerged triumphant on both occasions to lift the coveted trophy for the second time.

Wood is currently in the United Kingdom and it has been learned that his rehabilitation is said to be going on well. Meanwhile, England Test skipper Ben Stokes has made it clear that both Mark Wood and middle-order batter Harry Brook were given a couple of weeks rest after the T20 World Cup.

Wood's workload was managed really well by the England team management leading into the T20 World Cup. Wood only featured in two out of the seven T20Is that England played during their recent tour to Pakistan ahead of the World Cup down under.

In the two games during the Pakistan series, Wood bagged six scalps at an impressive economy rate of 5.50. He hurried the Pakistan batters with his brute pace and was able to generate heat out of the sluggish tracks.

We're not going to call up another seamer to this group: Ben Stokes

"No, we're sticking with it. We're not going to call up another seamer to this group,” said Stokes as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"We took the decision to let Brooky (Harry Brook) and Woody (Mark Wood) spend that time at home, obviously being at Pakistan and the World Cup," Stokes said.

"We felt a week at home for them would be more beneficial, just to get their batteries recharged, and obviously with Woody's injury, getting home and being around his wife and child would be better than being out here and getting all his rehab, which he could do at home,” he added.

"We've let them go home. I haven't had much contact with them, just to let them chill out and relax. From all reports, Woody's coming on nicely and we'll see how he is when he gets out here,” said the star all-rounder.

Before the injury sidelined him, Wood showcased consistent performances with the ball in hand for England picking up nine wickets from four matches in the T20 carnival in Australia.

Earlier this year, the pacer had sustained an elbow injury during the first Test match against the West Indies in Antigua. The extent of the injury was so serious that it kept him out of action for a few months and he also had to miss the IPL 2022 where he was supposed to represent Lucknow Super Giants.