Chris Wood will miss the upcoming All Whites matches against Sweden and Qatar later this month, as he continues to recover from injury.
Wood was one of the notable absentees in the 23-man squad named on Tuesday for the two games in Stockholm and Vienna.
New Zealand’s alltime leading scorer injured his quadricep before the first match against China in March and hasn’t played since, missing the reminder of the English Premier League season with Nottingham Forest.
All Whites interim head coach Darren Bazeley said Wood was on track to return for Forest pre-season but these matches had come too soon.
It’s a critical time for Wood, whose loan deal at Forest was made permanent last week, as they agreed a 15 million pound fee ($30 million) with Newcastle.
Bazeley revealed that Wood had suffered the injury in training on the eve of the China match. It initially seemed innocuous but later proved to be more serious and Wood returned to England, after consultation with medical staff.
“Right now he’s working hard to make sure he’s ready to start the season for Nottingham Forest,” said Bazeley. “They did great to stay up and it’s a big challenge ahead for them next season. But we want Woodsy fully fit and firing and scoring goals in the Premier League as that will be great for New Zealand.”
The squad was also without Sarpreet Singh and Ryan Thomas.
Singh hasn’t worn the silver fern since January 2022, while Thomas had his last international match in November 2019 against Ireland.
“[For Sarpreet] it’s been a really tough season for his team and he’s still in the position where he has to manage his injury and recovery is key for him,” said Bazeley. “So at this stage he is not ready to take on extra loading.”
Bazeley said Thomas was in a similar situation, as he manages his body through the off season.
“I definitely think we will see one of them, potentially both of them, playing in the All Whites this year, but it will be a conversation each time.”
Bill Tuiloma and Ben Waine return after missing the March window due to club commitments while Wellington Phoenix’s Finn Surman is called up for the first time after his excellent displays at the Fifa Under-20 World Cup.
Ben Waine after scoring in his All Whites debut. Photo / Photosport
Francis de Vries also returns to the side for the first time in a year after a knee injury.
Bazeley admitted it was a close call for James McGarry – who had an excellent season with Central Coast Mariners, culminating in their A League grand final win last Saturday – as well as Storm Roux.
“We are at a situation now, which is really positive for New Zealand, we are still leaving out really good players,” said Bazeley. “We are now selecting players and actually having to make some decisions rather than [thinking] what professionals have we got around the world and picking all of them.”
He added that the pair were in the frame for future windows.
Bazeley has also cast the net wide among the goalkeepers, recalling Max Crocombe and Nik Tzanev for the first time since 2018 and 2021 respectively.
There is still uncertainty over who will be given the permanent head coach role – with a process that has dragged on since last November – but Bazeley isn’t thinking too far ahead.
“I was given the interim role for this window and that is what I will concentrate on. All I can do is attack this window and see what happens after that.”
It isn’t an ideal situation – “it is quite unsettling for myself and the family, not knowing what is around the corner” – but he is excited about the challenge of facing Sweden (world No 22) and Qatar (61) in the space of four days.
“These games represent a real test but that is what this team needs right now to build the foundations leading into the qualification campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” said Bazeley.
