England coach Chris Silverwood is hopeful that fast bowler Mark Wood, who injured his shoulder during the second Test between England and India at Lord’s, would be able to play the third Test at Leeds starting August 25.
"The medics are working on him, we'll find out more in the next couple of days. We will make a decision, along with him and our medics, closer to the time,” Silverwood said in a press briefing after the hosts’ unexpected 151 run loss in the second Test.
“But if he's not right, he's not right. I certainly won't push him into playing if he tells me he's not right. I will look after him,” cautioned Silverwood, indicating that Wood might join the long list of English players currently suffering due to injury.
Praising the 31-year-old bowler who picked up five crucial wickets across the two innings in the Test and bowled over 90 MPH, pouring his heart out even after the shoulder injury, Silverwood said, “It just shows how much he cares about the team and how much he cares about playing for England, and how passionate he is. I'm very proud of him for what he did there.”
“He is a prized asset. We have found ourselves in the position when you lose Archer and [Olly] Stone, we have got one guy left that can bowl that fast,” the coach added saying that he wouldn’t be forcing Wood to get fit ahead of the third Test.
The coach also shielded his captain Joe Root who took the responsibility for the team’s loss from a winning position. Silverwood said that it was a collective responsibility as the decision was made collectively and they faltered in their strategy because of emotions.
"Emotions ran high, there's no doubt about it. They obviously targeted Jimmy in that first innings, so we went back hard at them as well. We tried to go toe-to-toe with them, but what we could have done better is a shift from that tactic back to Plan A, and hitting the top of off,” he said mentioning the team’s fault when they git emotional instead of focussing on getting India out.