England's Wood hoping to bowl again this summer

The Durham right-armer is centrally contracted the autumn. Despite this latest injury, he said he will "laser" on the goal of adding to his 146 caps across all formats. "You've got to keep your eye on the prize, which is ultimately for me trying to get to playing for England," he said. "That's my focus. "It's mega frustrating. It's been a long time, over a year since I had the initial surgery. "To build it back up for seven months to play one game, and then be out again takes its toll. "With the age I'm at, I don't want to miss games. You want to be involved. I was bowling quickly and well before this injury started and I haven't been able to get back to that level." Wood's absence comes at a time of significant upheaval in England's pace bowling department.

If it turns out he can no longer play Test cricket, Wood would join James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes in exiting the longest format. The four mainstays of England's fast bowling over a number of years have 1,619 Test wickets between them. England's first Test of the home summer is against New Zealand, beginning on 4 June. Brydon Carse could miss out with a broken wrist, while the match at Lord's may come too soon for Jofra Archer after his stint at the Indian Premier League. Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson would be set for places in the squad, with competition for who could join them. Matthew Potts and Matthew Fisher were in England's Ashes squad, while Sonny Baker has a central contract. Surrey's Tom Lawes has an England development deal, but is missing their game against Sussex this week with an injury. Lancashire's Mitchell Stanley is highly rated, despite having played only four first-class matches.