England bowler Mark Wood set to miss up to eight weeks of season due to ankle surgery

England bowler Mark Wood has been told he requires surgery on his troublesome left ankle. The operation, which is set to take place either later this week or early next, will rule the Ashes-winning seamer out of action for up to eight weeks.

Wood, 26, flew home from England's tour of the UAE in November 2015 prematurely in order to undergo an initial operation on his ankle. The highly-rated fast bowler was expected to make his comeback for Durham's second XI against Scotland, at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday (19 April), but has been forced to withdraw after experiencing pain.

Wood – who recently had a cortisone injection in his ankle in a bid to ease the problem – has visited a specialist in the Netherlands who found that a small piece of bone inside his ankle is causing the irritation, according to CricInfo.

The Durham and England man is, therefore, set to undergo a minor keyhole procedure that will rule him out of action for up to two months, meaning he is likely to miss he three-Test series against Sri Lanka that gets under way in May.

Wood has admitted that surgery was an increasingly probable course of action. "At some point, the back of my ankle will need to be operated on, that has been made pretty clear to me by England," he said. "It would be the worst possible time, the worst possible feeling, the worst possible everything, but I would have to take it on the chin."