DURHAM and England paceman Mark Wood is reeling from another injury blow after discovering he fractured an ankle bone when playing against Surrey last month.

The pain will be all the greater for knowing his effort did not save Durham from relegation after all because of the harsh punishment dished out by the ECB last week.

“I probably shouldn't have played,” he said. “I was 60 per cent fit but I was desperate to try and help to keep us up.

“Now that's been taken away and the lads are gutted because we are a tight group with that identity of being from the North-East.”

Wood revealed that he had an injection after the Surrey game. It didn't work, but after being ruled out of the one-day and Test series in Bangladesh, he was still confident of making the tour of India next month.

He will now need a third operation on his left ankle inside 12 months, but according to England’s top physiotherapy man, Ben Langley, that comes as some reassurance after the concerns since the ankle flared up during the Surrey game.

“Woody showed his commitment to Durham with the way he bowled 35 overs in that match, and we know now that he also showed a hell of a lot of courage and resilience,” said Langley.

“His foot and ankle swelled up hugely during the game, which was obviously worrying, then we were perplexed when nothing significant showed up on the first scan.

“It was only when we got him in for a second scan that we discovered he’d been playing on despite having fractured a bone.

“So it’s a different injury to what he’s had the previous surgery for, and there’s no reason to think that when he’s had this bone fragment removed, he won’t be able to get back to bowling as well he has in the second half of the 2016 summer.”

It was a relief to Durham when Wood was recently awarded a central Test contract by England, meaning they don't have to pay his wages.

But the latest setback in his injury-plagued career can only increase the bitterness felt over the relegation imposed by the ECB.

Wood played a big part in the victory against Surrey, producing a snorter to get rid of Kumar Sangakkara in the second innings. He was as delighted as the rest of the players afterwards in the belief that safety had been achieved.

Durham can expect some progress this week in the ECB's attempts to persuade Ian Botham to become chairman. He has been away playing in the Dunhill Links golf event at St Andrew's.

If they are serious about having such a strong character in charge they may have to make some concessions in matters such as denying Chester-le-Street any Test cricket.