England could be without injured fast bowler Mark Wood for longer than anticipated after dragging themselves back into the Ashes overnight. A superb unbeaten century from Joe Root - his first in Australia - put the tourists in the driver's seat at The Gabba on day one of the second Test match.

Root (135no) was imperious as he remained unbeaten at the close, notching his 40th Test ton as England piled up 325-9 with Zak Crawley (76) and No.11 batter Jofra Archer (32no) also chipping in. Despite the Aussies having some successful moments of their own, the day belonged to Ben Stokes' side.

However, there was one major alarm delivered off the pitch. Wood, who is currently nursing a knee injury and was initially ruled out for just the second Test match, could also miss the next encounter in Adelaide after providing an unwelcome update on his condition.

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The 35-year-old quick, who played the first Test match in Perth and bowled 11 wicketless overs, spoke with Aussie broadcaster Channel 7 on day one in Brisbane and admits it will be touch-and-go whether or not he laces back up the boots before Christmas.

"I think there's a chance there [for the third Test match in Adelaide]," stated Wood. "More realistically, it's probably more Melbourne and then [Sydney] after that.

"I need to get out of this [brace] first to get moving around."

Wood has suffered more than his fair share of injury problems throughout his international career. His appearance in Perth was his first Test match in 15 months due to an elbow problem.

The Durham native was still wearing a knee brace on day one in Brisbane, as he took in the action with his England teammates from the changing room. Wood's absence marked the only change to Stokes' line-up ahead of Brisbane with spin-bowling allrounder Will Jacks replacing him.

Analysing the Wood injury set-back, former England captain Michael Atherton told Sky Sports: "He's a key player, a fast bowler and the whole strategy here is to win The Ashes with pace. I think the initial hopes were that he would be right for the third Test in Adelaide, but he has delivered a more pessimistic update.

"His impact in the series could be minimal."

Wood played the first Test as part of a five-man pace attack. However, there has been a slight change of approach from the tourists in Brisbane, as they have opted for a spin option - Jacks - who also provided added batting depth.

In response to Root's heroics, left-armer Mitchell Starc was, once again, the star performer for Australia. He took 6-71 from his 19 overs with the much-talked about pink ball.

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