The All Whites won't have the services of captain and star striker Chris Wood for their upcoming international friendlies against Sweden and Qatar.
A quad injury has prevented the Nottingham Forest forward from taking the field since early March, and a subsequent setback at training while in New Zealand for the series against China resulted in him being ruled out of the rest of their Premier League campaign.
After consultations with the club, All Whites interim head coach Darren Bazeley confirmed Wood would remain in England to allow Forest's medical staff to continue their rehabilitation efforts and ensure he's ready for the start of the season in August.
"It was deemed best to get him home as soon as possible to get him looked at by Nottingham Forest, because he's obviously a key player for them and worth a lot of money to them," said Bazeley.
"Right now he's working hard to make sure he's ready to start the season for Nottingham Forest. They did great to stay up and it's a big challenge ahead for them next season.
"But we want Woodsy fully fit and firing and scoring goals in the Premier League as that will be great for New Zealand."
Wood is the most glaring omission from Bazley's 23-player squad, who'll take on Sweden in Stockholm on June 16 (NZ time), before travelling to Vienna to square off with Qatar on June 20.
Midfielder Joe Bell will be entrusted with the captaincy in Wood's absence.
Both Sarpreet Singh and Ryan Thomas are also unavailable. Both face similar sitautions to their captain, preferring to focus on their off-season recovery in Germany and the Netherlands respectively.
Wellington Phoenix’s Finn Surman is called up for his potential All Whites debut, after his strong showing as captain of the New Zealand U20 side at the FIFA U20 World Cup.
Bill Tuiloma and Ben Waine are both back in the squad after missing the March games against China because of club commitments.
Francis de Vries returns to the side for the first time in a year after recovering from a long-term injury.
Goalkeepers Max Crocombe and Nik Tzanev are recalled for the first time since 2018 and 2021 respectively after consistently good performances in the English Football League this season.
Following a draw and a win against the Chinese in Auckland and Wellington, Bazeley hopes to build on the All Whites' momentum in Europe.
"After two good results against China at home, these games represent a real test but that is what this team needs right now to build the foundations leading into the qualification campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup," he said.
"Sweden are No. 22 in the world, playing at home in front of a large crowd, so that will be a big but really good challenge for our players.
"Qatar are another top side ranked significantly higher than us with lots of experience gained as hosts of the last FIFA World Cup."
All Whites squad to face Sweden and Qatar:
Max Crocombe, Oli Sail, Nik Tzanev, Michael Boxall, Liberato Cacace, Francis de Vries, Callan Elliot, Tim Payne, Nando Pijnaker, Tommy Smith, Finn Surman, Bill Tuiloma, Joe Bell, Matthew Garbett, Elijah Just, Clayton Lewis, Marco Rojas, Alex Rufer, Marko Stamenic, Alex Greive, Max Mata, Callum McCowatt, Ben Waine
