Mark Wood missed T20 World Cup due to injury [Source: AFP]Mark Wood has finally begun contemplating retirement, at least mentally, amid his prolonged battle with injury. Aged 36, the tearaway England paceman has not played any form of competitive cricket since the first Test of the 2025-26 Ashes series in Australia last November, missing even the entirety of the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.After going wicketless at the Optus Stadium in Perth, the cricketer was ruled out of the remainder of the 2025-26 Ashes series owing to his knee injury, thus prompting the England team management to recall Surrey fast bowler Matthew Fisher. Mark Wood gives recovery update ahead of English summer After missing the 2026 T20 World Cup, Mark Wood has given an important recovery update just a couple of months ahead of England’s upcoming domestic and international home season. The cricketer revealed that he undergoes scans by specialists every six weeks, with each stage showing signs of improvement. Also Read- 5 Players Who Can Break Shoaib Akhtar’s Record of Fastest BallWhile speaking on the BBC Tailenders podcast, the 36-year-old said, “It's real slow going with the stage I'm at in my career. It's quite a fine balance, where if I push this too hard, then that could be it. It's six-week blocks; it's not day by day. It's specialists and rescans every six weeks. It's been improving since what I got told had been an explosion in my knee in Australia. So every six weeks has been an improvement. 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.” Mark Wood discusses retirement plans Mark Wood also dropped a hint at retirement, doing so for the first time since succumbing to a knee injury in Australia late last year and missing the 2026 T20 World Cup. The lanky English paceman said that he is currently doing podcasts and pursuing coaching badges as he continues to consider his post-retirement plans if the recovery process does not go as planned. He added, “I've started thinking about other things, doing podcasts and doing my coaching badges. I've now started to try and think for the first time about what I should do if this doesn't go well.” Mark Wood’s brush with injuries and a bleak future Aged 36, Mark Wood might well have played the last Test of his career during the series-opener of the 2025-26 Ashes in November 2025. With his prolonged battle against injury and his recent remarks, the cricketer could well be approaching the twilight of his illustrious international career. While he made his international debut across all formats for England back in 2015, the speedster has endured a stop-start journey plagued by recurring injuries since then. Prior to his injury in Australia a few months ago, Wood also suffered an injury back in late 2022 and missed being part of England’s playing XI of their victorious 2022 T20 World Cup final against Pakistan. In any case, the 36-year-old might prolong his career at least in franchise T20 cricket going forward. While he is yet to make his Hundred debut and played his last IPL match back in 2023, a fully available Mark Wood might attract a few handsome bids from franchises in the auction. Also read: Hardik Pandya Girlfriend Mahieka Sharma Brushes Off Trolls With Powerful Message
