Leeds United: Chris Wood named as New Zealand captain

Chris Wood bags his 13th goal of season at Preston last weekend.

The Elland Road forward will lead the All Whites in Papua New Guinea as they bid to quality for the Conferations Cup in Russia next year.United’s Championship season only finished last Saturday but Wood is set to fly out to Brisbane for a warm-up involving games against three Australian clubs. New Zealand’s Nations Cup group campaign starts against Fiji on May 28 followed by meetings with Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.The final of the competition is scheduled for June 11, meaning Wood could have less than four weeks to recuperate before Leeds start pre-season training.The 24-year-old scored 13 goals for United this season on the back of a high-profile move from Leicester City but he was troubled by hamstring injuries after Christmas.Leeds winger Stuart Dallas will also be heavily involved in international football this summer after qualifying for Euro 2016 with Northern Ireland.The province are due to play Belarus in a friendly at Windsor Park on May 27 before flying out for a training camp in Austria. They have another friendly against Slovakia scheduled for June 4, eight days before their first Euro 2016 fixture against Poland.