Chris Wood is returning to Nottingham Forest from New Zealand without playing a single minute for his country.
Wood picked up a thigh injury in the defeat at Tottenham earlier this month and missed the loss to Newcastle United. However, he still travelled to his homeland for two friendlies against China. Wood didn’t figure in Thursday’s goalless stalemate in Auckland and has been declared unfit for the rematch in Wellington on Sunday. As a result, the 31-year-old has been sent back to Nottingham for further assessment by the Forest medical team.
New Zealand interim coach Darren Bazeley explained: “We’ve been monitoring Chris ever since he arrived but he didn’t travel with the team yesterday, he stayed in Auckland for some consultation.