Mark Wood is a major doubt for the rest of England’s series against Sri Lanka after pulling up with a thigh injury late on day three of the first Test at Old Trafford.

Wood walked off two balls into his 11th over on Friday after feeling discomfort in his right thigh.

He will not bowl on day four in Manchester when Sri Lanka resume their second innings on 204 for six, a lead of 82, and his participation in the final two Tests will be determined by the results of a scan he will have on Saturday.

A brief statement released on Saturday morning confirmed: “England pace bowler Mark Wood has sustained a right thigh muscle injury late on the third day of the first Rothesay Test against Sri Lanka at Emirates Old Trafford.

“He will not return to the field today and will continue to be assessed by the England medical team to determine the full extent of the injury.”

England will be reluctant to take any chances with a fast bowler who has lit up the summer with his extreme pace, regularly bowling above 90 miles per hour and hitting 97.1mph in the second Test against the West Indies in Nottingham last month.

Wood had walked off the field on the second day of that match too, but the issue was later diagnosed as cramp caused by fatigue.

The 34-year-old has taken 11 wickets at 22.45 in four Tests this summer and he has consistently bowled quicker than ever before in his international career.

Stuart Broad, Wood’s former team-mate, said on Sky Sports: “I would be amazed if it is anything too serious but with his style of bowling, you don’t want to push it too far or cause any more damage.

“Ultimately, if Sri Lanka were no wickets down it is a different story.

“With them six wickets down, you would hope you have enough bowling to get them. I would be shocked if they risked him at Lord’s on Thursday. Then you try and get him fit for the Oval.”

Despite his age, England will be confident Wood can be part of their plans for next year’s Ashes series in Australia and will be aware they will have to manage him extremely carefully in the run-up to that series that’ll start in Perth in 15 months’ time.

The Durham quick was England’s best bowler on the last Ashes tour Down Under in 2021-22, taking 17 wickets at 26.64.

Wood has been plagued by injuries throughout an England career that started in 2015. Three operations on his left ankle inside 12 months soon after he’d made his debut left him questioning whether he would ever play again.

But he has been injury-free for much of the past 18 months following surgery on his right elbow in the summer of 2022.

England will hope his thigh issue is just a minor strain rather than a tear, which would not only rule him out of the rest of the summer but October’s three-Test series in Pakistan too.