Chris Wood was forced to limp off during New Zealand’s World Cup qualifier with New Caledonia, leaving Nottingham Forest sweating over his fitness

Chris Wood was forced to leave the pitch due to an injury during New Zealand’s international match on Sunday, causing concern for Nottingham Forest about his fitness.

The 33 year old striker, who has netted 18 goals for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, was seen limping heavily during their World Cup 2026 qualifier against New Caledonia, seemingly due to a hip injury.

At the time of Wood’s departure, signalling his need for substitution due to discomfort, the game was at a 0-0 stalemate, reports the Express.

Forest fans will be on tenterhooks hoping that the injury isn’t serious. Wood has been a talisman for the club and their success this season and an enforced absence from the team would hit the Reds hard.

The injury comes after Wood was shown a yellow card for the most bizarre of reasons when the the 33-year-old bagged a hat-trick of headers for his country in the early hours of Friday (GMT) as Fiji were thumped 7-0 at the Sky Stadium in Wellington. With his work done, Wood was substituted just past the hour mark but found himself on the end of a booking after coming off the pitch.

According to the BBC, Wood was disciplined by referee Norbert Hauata for signing autographs and taking photographs with fans as the game continued. The Reds ace had come off to a standing ovation and went up to the stands to mix with supporters, then was booked when he made his way back to the side of the pitch.

“If that’s the rules, that’s the rules,” Wood told France 24. “Just doing something nice and trying to sign for the fans.”

His treble was Wood’s second in as many outings for the All Whites, having also netted three goals against Samoa in November. Forest defender Tyler Bindon, who is on loan at Reading, also got on the scoresheet.

New Zealand took on New Caledonia in Auckland with a place in the 2026 World Cup at stake. “It’s all about the team,” Wood said.

“It was a dominant first half and we kept it going into the second half. The team did really well in that sense.”

“We know how good New Caledonia are and we’re going to have to be ready for them,” Wood added. “We know they’re going to cause us problems. We need to focus on doing recovery well now and be ready to go Monday.”

In a separate interview with New Zealand publication Stuff, Wood said of his yellow card: “It’s very interesting. We’ll just leave it at that.”

Boss Darren Bazeley is quoted as saying he “wasn’t sure what happened there”. He said: “There’s no harm done. It’s a yellow card that doesn’t carry over so he’ll be fine.”

Manchester United boost as Nottingham Forest dealt blow following injury to Chris Wood on international duty

Manchester United resume Premier League action on April 1 with a trip to the City Ground stadium to take on Nottingham Forest, and they have received a boost ahead of the game after the Reds suffered a huge injury blow.

They could be without Chris Wood after the New Zealand international sustained an apparent hip injury during their World Cup 2026 qualifier against New Caledonia in the early hours of today, and not having to face him will be good news for the Red Devils.

The Forest star could miss several weeks after he was taken off and was seen limping heavily, and he is expected to be unavailable against Man United from the look of things.

Wood has 18 Premier League goals and three assists so far this term, and being without him when the Red Devils come visiting will be a huge blow for manager Nuno Espirito Santo given how influential he has been so far in the final third.

Forest are currently third in the league table after 29 games and would have fancied their chances against Man United were the 33-year-old fit, but they could struggle in his absence given that he has featured in every of their league fixtures so far in 2024-25.

The Red Devils headed into the international break on the back of a 3-0 victory over Leicester City and are in dire need of an impressive run between now and the end of the campaign if they are to finish in the European places.

They are currently 13th in the table, ten points off the top-seven, and they need to win all or most of their remaining nine league games to boost their chances of qualifying for continental football through their finishing position in the table at the end of the campaign.