Mark Wood's cricket future uncertain following major injury vs SL

England National Cricket Team have suffered a devastating blow as their star express pacer Mark Wood's cricket future for the remainder of the ongoing three-match Test series against Sri Lanka National Cricket Team looks uncertain.

Wood is arguably the best and most dangerous pacer in the England squad at the moment and him being absent for the upcoming fixtures would definitely make the side weak.

The 34-year-old, as usual, looked threatening with the ball and, in the first innings of the Manchester Test against Sri Lanka, bowled 8 overs. In those overs, he picked up one wicket and gave away just 31 runs.

When his turn came to bowl in Sri Lanka's second innings, he bowled with a fast pace and troubled the Lankan batters with his bouncers. One of his deliveries was a little too lethal on Day 3 as it hit Dinesh Chandimal on the thumb and forced him to retire hurt.

On the same day, Mark Wood experienced discomfort in his leg after bowling the second ball of his 11th over. He immediately decided to leave the field, and the remaining deliveries of his overs were bowled by Joe Root, who also bagged Milan Rathnayake's wicket on the 4th ball of the over.

Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) released an official statement just before the start of the fourth day's play in which they announced that the express speedster would not take the field on Day 4. ECB also confirmed Wood's thigh injury and stated that he would undergo further scans to determine the full extent of the injury.

Mark Wood Doubtful For Remainder Of Test Series Against Sri Lanka

According to the latest report in ESPNcricinfo, Mark Wood is highly likely to miss the second Test against Sri Lanka and could even be ruled out of the remainder of the series.

England, reportedly, are hoping that Wood's injury is just a strain and not a tear. They are likely to take a cautious approach with the pacer considering his long history with the injuries.

In case Mark Wood gets ruled out of upcoming fixtures, England will likely include Olly Stone in the playing XI. Notably, Stone was named in the Test squad but was released from the line-up to play County Championship for Nottinghamshire after not being included in the team for the first Test.

The loss of Mark Wood would be the second major blow for England as they have already lost their red-ball skipper Ben Stokes to a hamstring tear.

England's Test captain suffered the injury while playing in The Hundred and has been ruled out of the rest of the English summer. Recently, he was seen doing some batting practice in the nets as he aims to make a quick recovery and get back to action.

Meanwhile, the second Test between England and Sri Lanka is scheduled to be hosted by Lord's from Thursday, August 29. Also, the third and final Test is set to be played from Friday, September 6, at The Oval.