logo
England bowler Mark Wood reveals his 'rehab is going well' as he returns to the nets and eyes return in fifth Test against India

England bowler Mark Wood reveals his 'rehab is going well' as he returns to the nets and eyes return in fifth Test against India

Daily Mail​20-06-2025
Mark Wood has revealed he is back bowling in the nets and hopes to make his England return in the fifth Test against India.
The Durham quick had surgery on his injured left knee in March and was expected to miss the entire Test summer.
However, Wood believes he can now be back in time to feature in the final match of the India series, which starts at the Oval on July 31, ahead of the winter Ashes tour.
'Rehab is going well,' the 35-year-old told BBC Test Match Special, who he is working for at Headingley.
'I have just started bowling, very lightly, but I am on the comeback trail now officially.
'I am hoping still to play a part in this series. I am still targeting maybe the last Test.
'Anything before that is probably a bit too soon. The last Test I might not get there, but at the minute that is still my focus, that I might play a part.'
Wood's imminent return is a major boost for England, who hope to have their full battery of fast bowlers fit for Australia.
Jorfa Archer is also expected to play in Sussex's County Championship match at Durham starting on Sunday, with an eye on making his England comeback in the second or third Test.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Why England head into home Rugby World Cup as firm favourites
Why England head into home Rugby World Cup as firm favourites

The Independent

time2 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Why England head into home Rugby World Cup as firm favourites

England's Red Roses are strong favourites for the upcoming home Rugby World Cup, having been undefeated for 27 games and winning seven consecutive Six Nations titles since their last loss in the 2022 final. The tournament, which kicks off with England facing the United States in Sunderland, aims to elevate women's rugby, drawing inspiration from the growth of women's football. Record-breaking ticket sales have seen over 375,000 of 470,000 available tickets sold, with the final at Allianz Stadium already sold out, indicating unprecedented public appetite. The 2025 competition has expanded to 16 teams, including debutants Brazil, with other home nations like Wales, Scotland, and Ireland also participating. Key players such as England's Ellie Kildunne, Australia's Caitlyn Halse, and Canada's Sophie de Goede are expected to shine, with the tournament poised to be a watershed moment for women's rugby.

CARVILL'S NOTES: The Aftermath of Itauma-Whyte
CARVILL'S NOTES: The Aftermath of Itauma-Whyte

The Independent

time2 minutes ago

  • The Independent

CARVILL'S NOTES: The Aftermath of Itauma-Whyte

Last week, I was the sole predictor on the DAZN and The Independent teams that picked Dillian Whyte over Moses Itauma. Whyte was too experienced, had fought too much at the highest level, I thought, while Itauma was too new and raw with only twelve fights, none of them going past six rounds. It was too soon, I reasoned. And a mistake is being made. Catch all the latest boxing action on DAZN Well, I was wrong. Brutally. Itauma dispatched Whyte within a round, in fewer than two minutes. It was hard, near impossible, to escape the sense from Whyte that he is completely shot as a fighter. For such a formidable, big man, he looked almost frail in the ring, flinching even from the initial punches. And once the fight was over, it looked like he wanted to continue, trying to look as if he had instead been caught cold before his engine had had time to properly start on a winter morning. He was probably remembering something. In some ways, we all were when we thought he may have presented a challenge on Saturday night. Itauma looked an echelon or two higher, and the chattering monkeys of the hype machine have begun immediately writing and pushing for a showdown with Oleksandr Usyk. That fight would, if made, be a win-win for Itauma and a lose-lose proposition for Usyk. If Itauma were to take that fight and win, then he is a champion within fourteen fights, the vanquisher of a feared, undisputed, almost-peerless performer. If Itauma loses, it is a fight that came too soon, but his name is varnished if he goes some rounds, especially if he goes the distance. For Usyk, there are no good outcomes from a fight against Itauma. If he were to win, then he has beaten a novice who came into the ring with only thirteen fights and who had never gone past six rounds. Losing would be much the same – defeat against an inexperienced, fledgling opponent. It is much the same in predicting the outcome of a fight. Boxing is so complex, and lines of decline are so singular and personalised that it is hard to predict accurately how a fight will go, unless the fighter is so far gone that the result is a foregone conclusion. Pick right, and you are at best a sage. At worst, someone waiting until the easy answer is apparent. Pick poorly, and you are a know-nothing, someone who missed the obvious. An armchair critic who throws worded missiles, some of which miss. Prediction is a harder game than judgement. But here is something I do know. When I was writing Death of a Boxer around two years ago, I went to the Brain Bank in Boston, US, where I was given a tour of the facilities. I also went to see Dr Robert Cantu, arguably the US's leading neurologist when it comes to sports injuries. He gave me the talk about head injury in sport, as did Dr Ann McKee. They knew the numbers, the likelihood of damage, and of how that damage increases as you get older. Here is something else – not long after I went to the US, I visited Poland to watch the first Usyk-Dubois fight. A buddy of mine went there and, landing at Wroclaw Airport, he ran into a heavyweight fighter, a household name in boxing. The fighter, he told me, was so out of it that he did not seem to know which city he was in. 'I spoke to him,' my buddy said. 'You would need a weekly planner to measure the delay in his response times.' There will be murmurs for Dillian Whyte to retire at this point. Those rumbles may even rise up, if there is no money involved, to become calls. There is no moral edge in calling for someone to retire. But retirement may be on the cards for Whyte. He may reason that he was injured or caught cold or did not train right, and so he may try once again to fight. Or he may see the writing on the wall and rightly call it a day. And on that note: · If you ever need one more example of how brutal the business of boxing can be, here is one for you. I know the names of all involved, but am not publishing them because it is both hard to confirm and the matter was entirely been dealt with privately. There was a former champion from decades ago, a fairly well-known name, who badly needed an operation to fix their arm. A problem with the nerve had caused the arm to atrophy and become useless. This former boxer approached their former promoter, a man worth untold millions for help in affording the operation to save his arm. The amount he asked for was somewhere in the region of $25,000. The promoter's answer? 'Go ---- yourself.' · German heavyweight Agit Kabayel recently, according to Instagram, welcomed a new baby into the world. Heartfelt congratulations are on order from the Independent and DAZN boxing teams. · Last week, I was talking about Jonathan Rendall, author of This Bloody Mary Is the Last Thing I Own. Rendall moved on in 2013. Calling his writing 'fresh' would be inaccurate, given the seedy world of gambling, drinking, and boxing that he wrote about, but it stands up magnificently in 2025. It would be of great service to boxing literature if somehow his articles, spread out across so many publications, could be collected and presented to the world. Watch the very best boxing with a DAZN subscription DAZN is the home of combat sports, broadcasting over 185 fights a year from the world's best promoters, including Matchroom, Queensberry, Golden Boy, Misfits, PFL, BKFC, GLORY and more. An Annual Saver subscription is a one-off cost of £119.99 / $224.99 (for 12 months access), that's just 64p / $1.21 per fight. There is also a Monthly Flex Pass option (cancel any time) at £24.99 / $29.99 per month. A subscription includes weekly magazine shows, comprehensive fight library, exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes documentaries, and podcasts and vodcasts.

Is Crystal Palace vs Fredrikstad on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch Conference League play-off
Is Crystal Palace vs Fredrikstad on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch Conference League play-off

The Independent

time2 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Is Crystal Palace vs Fredrikstad on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch Conference League play-off

Crystal Palace take on Norwegian side Fredrikstad in the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off tonight, with Oliver Glasner's side looking to put their Europa League demotion behind them. Palace are preparing for their first ever (major) European football campaign and though Glasner's preparations have been interrupted with the transfer speculation around Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze, Palace are well-placed to enter the league phase. An opening day draw to Chelsea further illustrated Palace's status as one of the Premier League's toughest sides to play against, and tonight they face a side who fell into the Conference League after losing their Europa League third-round qualifier 5-1 on aggregate to Danish side FC Midtjylland. The Norwegian minnows are currently eighth in the Norwegian Eliteserien, having won just seven of their 18 matches, and Palace will be expected to put one foot in the league phase with a big result tonight. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the match. When is Crystal Palace vs Fredrikstad? The match is due to kick off at 8pm BST on Thursday, 21 August at Selhurst Park in London, England. How can I watch it? The game will be broadcast free-to-air in the UK on Channel 5, with coverage starting at 7.30pm BST. Next week's second leg will also be shown on 5. Subscribers can also watch the action online via the Channel 5 website. Team news The big question remains whether Ebere Eze will start ahead of his impending move to Arsenal, though early reports suggest the England international will play his final game for Palace tonight. Marc Guehi has also been the subject of plenty of recent transfer speculation and he is another name who could be left out, though once again early reports claim he will play a part in the first leg at least. Glasner has no new injury concerns after the opening draw to Chelsea, with key players including Dean Henderson, Adam Wharton and Jean-Philippe Mateta all set to start. Palace XI: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta. Odds Palace win - 1/11 Draw - 8/1 Fredrikstad win - 22/1

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store