Injury setback makes Wood ponder life after cricket

England paceman Mark Wood has admitted that his latest injury layoff has forced him to think about life beyond cricket, as the 36-year-old continues a slow recovery from a knee problem.

Wood said his rehabilitation has been “real slow going” and acknowledged that pushing too hard at this stage of his career could bring his playing days to an abrupt end.

“It’s quite a fine balance, where if I push this too hard, then that could be it,” Wood told the BBC’s Tailenders podcast.

The fast bowler returned to Test cricket after a 15-month absence when he featured in the first Ashes Test against Australia last November. However, a recurrence of a left knee injury ruled him out of the remainder of the series.

Wood said the recovery process has been carefully structured in six-week blocks, involving specialists and regular scans.

“It’s six-week blocks, it’s not day by day, it’s specialists and rescans every six weeks,” he said.

“It’s been improving since what I got told had been an explosion in my knee in Australia.”

The England pacer has recently resumed running and hopes the next phase of rehabilitation will allow him to begin bowling lightly.

“I’ve started running now and I’m hoping by the next block it’s in a position where maybe I can start lightly bowling,” he added.

The time away from the field has also given Wood an opportunity to consider what might come after his playing career.

“I’ve started thinking about other things, doing podcasts, doing my coaching badges,” he said.

“I’ve now started to try and think for the first time about what I should do if this doesn’t go well.”

Wood has taken 253 international wickets in 38 Tests, 70 ODIs and 38 Twenty20s for England.

England are next scheduled to host New Zealand in a three-match Test series in June.