Chris Wood: 'I didn't refuse to play for Leeds United'

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 06 October 2017

Former Leeds United striker Chris Wood says that he did not refuse to play for the Yorkshire giants before signing a deal with Burnley.

Former Leeds United striker Chris Wood has revealed that he did not make the decision to sit out of the club's fixture with Sunderland in August.

In the build-up to Leeds's away clash at the Stadium of Light, Burnley had a bid accepted for Wood's signature and it was initially believed that he had pulled out of the match to complete a switch to Turf Moor.

However, the New Zealand international has attempted to clear up the situation by saying that Burnley had instructed Leeds not to play him in the Championship encounter to prevent the forward from picking up an injury.

The 25-year-old told The Independent: "Nobody understands that the bid Burnley put in was subject to me not playing against Sunderland, and everybody thinks that I refused to play.

"It was out of my hands. The bid went in at 3pm on the Friday and got accepted at 5pm on the Friday. It was completely out of my hands whether I played or not. Burnley took that out of the equation, because they didn't want the worst to happen."

Wood has scored three goals in seven appearances in all competitions since completing the £15m transfer from Elland Road.