Chris Wood sparks injury concern after Nottingham Forest star limps off | Football

Chris Wood sparked injury concerns after the Nottingham Forest striker limped off the pitch during New Zealand’s clash with New Caledonia.

Wood appeared to be in some discomfort after landing awkwardly following a shot in the second half of Monday’s OFC World Cup qualifiers final.

The striker was unable to continue before gingerly hobbling off the pitch in the 54th minute to be replaced by Kosta Barbarouses.

Despite the absence of their key man, the All Whites produced a rousing display in the second half, scoring three times in the final 30 minutes to secure a 3-0 win and book their place in the 2026 World Cup.

New Zealand last featured in the World Cup back in 2010 in South Africa and are the second team to qualify for next summer’s tournament with the exception of the host nations.

Wood, meanwhile, was seen celebrating with his teammates on the pitch at full-time, with the severity of his injury currently unknown.

‘It’s not great for us losing our captain and our goalscorer. It was a difficult thing for the team but they came through so well,’ New Zealand head coach Darren Bazely said at full-time when asked about Wood’s departure.

The 33-year-old is currently enjoying the best goalscoring season of his lengthy Premier League career, with 18 goals in 29 games.

Only Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland and Alexander Isak have scored more this season, with Wood’s exploits helping Forest into third place with only nine games remaining.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are back in action next Saturday in the FA Cup quarter-finals as they visit Brighton and look to book their spot at Wembley in the semi-finals.

Forest then host Manchester United at the City Ground in midweek before travelling to face Aston Villa on Saturday. They currently have a six-point advantage over Manchester City in fifth place.

Earlier in the international break, Wood continued his fine goalscoring form with a hat-trick in New Zealand’s 7-0 win over Fiji.

However, the striker was then involved in an unusual situation after he was shown a yellow card for hopping over the railings and going to sign a few autographs while the match was still taking place.

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