New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley has indicated that Chris Wood does not seem to have sustained a serious injury after the Nottingham Forest striker was forced to leave the field limping during their Europa League victory over Porto before half-time on Thursday.
The All Whites’ captain and top scorer is anticipated to play a pivotal role for New Zealand at the World Cup in North America, with their opening match against Iran scheduled for June 15.
The 34-year-old, who made his return to the pitch earlier this month following an extended recovery from knee surgery, was subbed out in the opening half after receiving a robust tackle from Porto defender Jan Bednarek, who was subsequently shown a straight red card.
Nottingham Forest secured a 1-0 victory in the second leg of their quarter-final, progressing with a 2-1 aggregate score.
“While it’s never ideal to see our players suffer injuries, it’s worth noting that the impact was on the opposite knee to the one he had surgery on recently,” Bazeley stated in a statement to the New Zealand media.
“He will undergo an assessment by Forest, but thankfully it doesn’t sound as though it’s as serious as it initially appeared.”
New Zealand is also set to face Egypt and Belgium in Group G as they make their return to the World Cup for the first time since the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
Compiled by SportArena.au
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