New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley has expressed relief that striker Chris Wood does not appear to have sustained a serious injury after limping off during Nottingham Forest’s Europa League win over Porto on Thursday.
The 34-year-old captain and leading goalscorer for the All Whites is expected to play a key role at the upcoming World Cup in North America, beginning with their opener against Iran on June 15.
Wood, who had only recently returned from a lengthy knee injury that required surgery, was substituted early in the first half following a heavy challenge by Porto defender Jan Bednarek, who received a straight red card. Nottingham Forest went on to win the match 1-0, advancing 2-1 on aggregate to the semi-finals.
“While you obviously never want to see our players go down injured, the impact was on the other knee to where he recently had surgery,” Bazeley told New Zealand media. “He will be assessed by Forest but it doesn’t sound like it is as serious as it first looked, thankfully.”
New Zealand, returning to the World Cup for the first time since 2010, will also face Egypt and Belgium in Group G.
