Mark Wood admits he may well have seen more of Durham physio Nigel Kent than he would like in recent times – but his friend will be a big part in his recovery from an ankle injury.
The England star, who has signed a new three-year deal to stay at Emirates Riverside until 2019, has just started rehabilitation from a third operation which should clear up a long-standing issue.
On the day he spoke to Durham TV about his new deal, Wood was in to see the long-serving Durham physio as he seeks to regain fitness for the opening months of 2017.
The club’s medical team will work in tandem with the ECB staff to ensure the pace bowler is fit and firing as soon as possible, with Kent a pivotal part of the process.
And seeing familiar faces is something Wood admits can only help in his quest for recovery.
“Nige has been a huge part of my career, I’ve seen Nige more than anyone at this club and I sit next to Nige in the dressing room as well, probably to wrap me up in cotton wool and make sure I’ll be alright!” he said.
“He has always been great to me – along with the England physios, they look after me as well – everyone has been very supportive and I think more than anything they feel a bit sorry and disappointed for me when they know how much hard work I’ve put in.
“The hard work starts again with people like Jon Lewis, Alan Walker and Neil Killeen. Neil Killeen did my programme last year when I was in South Africa to build me back up, so I think he will do the same again.
“It’s nice to have friends and people who you can really call upon when you need them and I definitely have that here at Durham.”
It emerged during Wood’s preparations for England’s current tour to Bangladesh that he required another operation to remove a bone from his left ankle.
After going under the knife for a third time inside 12 months, the 26-year-old admits the mental effects are tougher than the physical ones but he firmly believes he can recover to become a key asset for the national side.
“Mentally it’s tough to keep coming, you get knocked back and you think if it will be the same again, but I’ve got that self belief and I know that if I do the right thing, my luck will change,” Wood said.
“I don’t care if I have to do a million drills to get my foot in the right position, there’s other lads have been through tough times too, you have just got to look at one in this dressing room in Graham Onions when people didn’t think he would ever play again with his back injury.
“I’ll have to move forward and hopefully cast aside the doubts and those who doubt me about my injury record. I’m prepared to take that on the chin and use that as motivation to prove people wrong and that’s what I’m going to do.”
When he was on the park during 2016, the fast bowler made an impact for both club and country, delivering arguably one of Durham’s greatest spells in the NatWest T20 Blast semi-final win over the Yorkshire Vikings.
It is performances like those, not the statistics and averages, Wood thinks people will remember him for and he is intent on delivering match-winning efforts upon his return in the new year.
“I don’t remember things like a lot of stats, you remember people for what they did in match winning situations and that’s what I want to be,” he said.
“I want to be a match winner for the club and hopefully I can win more games putting in performances like the Yorkshire [RL50] game, the T20 games against Gloucestershire and Yorkshire again. They’re the games I want to be involved in.
“I’ll look forward to the next step, know how good I can be and try to strive to get to there, realise my potential and the goals I want to make from cricket.”
The final part of Wood’s interview, where he talks about bouncing back from relegation in 2017, will be available to view on Monday