Chris Wood returns to first team football, months out from World Cup

Chris Wood  playing in the Premiere League for Nottingham Forest FC.

All Whites head coach Darren Bazely will be breathing a sigh of relief with Chris Wood set to return to first-team football after a long spell out injured ahead of the World Cup.

The Nottingham Forest striker and All Whites skipper has been out of action since October last year due to injury, undergoing knee surgery in December.

He has travelled to Portugal for the first leg of the Premier League relegation-battler's Europa League quarter-final against Porto tomorrow.

The 34-year-old has had a tough season, weighed down by injury and spending months recovering, netting four goals in 13 games.

Wood missed the All Whites' last games in New Zealand against Finland and Chile in March, where they lost 0-2 and won 4-1 respectively.

"He has started to train with the team. He is available for the game," Nottingham Forest head coach Vítor Pereira said about Wood.

"He is working with us, we need to manage him a little bit physically but he has travelled. It means he is available to be in the game tomorrow.

"He is an experienced player, he scores goals and it's important to be ready for the team in this moment because we face a lot of challenges."

Wood last played under Ange Postecoglou at Forest, unavailable during Sean Dyche's entire 114-day tenure before he was replaced by Pereira.

Wood was a key player in Forest's barnstorming 24/25 season, where they finished 7th and qualified for European football for the first time in decades.

Since his injury, Wood has made two appearances for Forest's under-21 side.

In just a few months, it's expected Wood will lead the All Whites at their first World Cup in 16 years.

New Zealand will play a friendly on June 7 (NZT) against England in Florida, before heading west to kick off their World Cup campaign against Iran in Los Angeles.

Watch the All Whites' FIFA World Cup and warmup matches live and free on TVNZ+

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