CHRIS Wood is out until June following knee surgery.

The Hampshire all-rounder was hoping to be back for the Natwest T20 Blast opener against Glamorgan on May 16.

But he has put back his comeback date. “I’ll be fit for the middle of May but won’t have played enough games to be bowling fit,” explained the 23 year-old, who underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee in January.

“I’ll have to play a couple of second team games to make sure I’m properly match fit and can’t rush back. I’ll be taking my time and if that means missing four or five T20 games that will have to be the case.”

Wood was troubled by wear-and-tear pain for much of last season, but the signings of Matt Coles and Kyle Abbott, who is expected to be available at the end of this month, have strengthened Hampshire’s bowling resources.

Abbott’s performance for South Africa against Australia last month at least helped Wood through some of his rehab. “It’s sometimes involves two gym sessions a day which can be quite tedious, but I’ve enjoyed watching Abbott,” he said.

“He’ll be a massive help to us, it doesn’t look like he bowls a bad ball! And he will enjoy bowling here more than in South African conditions. He‘ll bring a lot of experience, hopefully he can be the spearhead of our attack and we can bowl around him.”

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