Chris Wood: I'll Battle This Knee Injury My Entire Career

Nottingham Forest striker and New Zealand international, Chris Wood, has revealed he will battle a persistent knee issue for the rest of his life, but insists it won't deter him from participating in this summer's World Cup. The 34-year-old forward returned to training in early April after a six-month layoff and is now poised for the Europa League quarter-final second leg against Porto. Forest hosts the Portuguese giants tonight following a 1-1 draw last week, a match in which Wood started. This marked the New Zealander's first appearance since October, having undergone knee surgery late last year.

"It's a knee injury, and I'll be battling it throughout my entire career, and even when I'm playing with my kids, playing golf, or whatever I do after football. It will always be there. I'd say I'll always have to keep in mind that I need to stay in top shape and be ready," Wood stated at a press conference ahead of the quarter-final clash, as reported by the BBC.

"Knee injuries are always tricky; you never know what might happen in the future or how you'll recover from them. So, mentally, it's one of the toughest things to deal with, but I had the confidence that I would be able to return. I was very close to coming back before the surgery, but it just didn't happen. It was simply an unfortunate turn of events," the striker added.

Chris Wood has set his sights on representing his country at the World Cup in North America, where New Zealand is drawn in Group G alongside Belgium, Egypt, and Iran. "This wasn't a straightforward injury; we tried several different approaches to fix it before resorting to surgery. It didn't work out as we wanted, but at least I managed to return with enough time before the World Cup, so I hope to be called up," he further commented.

The winner of the Nottingham Forest versus Porto tie will face either Aston Villa or Bologna in the semi-final stage at the end of April.