Mark Wood has played 38 Tests for England, but only one since August 2024. Pace bowler Mark Wood is hoping to bowl later in the summer as he looks to come back from the knee injury that ruined his Ashes.

Wood had surgery on his left knee in March 2025 and returned to play for England in the first Test against Australia in November. He bowled only 11 overs in Perth before being ruled for the rest of the series.

The 36-year-old is among the fastest bowlers to ever play for England, but has regularly been hit by injuries in his 38-Test career. Prior to the Ashes he had not played Test cricket for 15 months, firstly because of an elbow injury, followed by the knee problem.

"I need to take it slow," Wood told the BBC's Strategic Timeout programme. "Realistically I've got maybe one more chance at doing this right. If I rush it back, then it's not good, that could be it. I'm still trying to get back to bowling, hopefully later on in the summer."

Last month, Wood admitted to having thoughts about what life after his playing career could look like if this latest rehabilitation does not go well. The Durham right-armer is centrally contracted by England until 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.

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