Chris Wood and Sarpreet Singh have been included in the All Whites’ squad for this month’s friendlies against Greece and the Republic of Ireland despite being sidelined with injuries.

The inclusion of Wood came as a surprise, as his Nottingham Forest coach Steve Cooper had said at the weekend he wouldn’t be back from a hamstring injury until after the November international window.

All Whites coach Darren Bazeley said they were in regular contact with Forest, who currently sit 12th in English Premier League, and were hopeful Wood could use the international matches to return to action.

“I think Forest were talking about how their fans won’t see him playing for Forest until after the window, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be fit for the window and actually, it might help Forest if he returns to play before he goes back.

“We wouldn’t do anything without Forest or Wood’s blessing. We wouldn’t put him on the pitch or risk him at all.”

Singh missed the All Whites’ second match in October – a 2-0 loss to Australia with the Soccer Ashes up for grabs – after suffering a hamstring injury, and hasn’t played for his German second-tier club, Hansa Rostock, since.

Bazeley said Singh was confident of being fit in time for the Greece and Ireland matches and that he was eager to play in them, having gone more than 18 months without an All Whites outing prior to October.

“He’s saying he wants to come in and play. He doesn’t want to come in just to be part of the group, he wants to actually play, which is great to hear.”

Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper Alex Paulsen and centre back Finn Surman will both be eyeing senior international debuts after being included in an All Whites squad for the second time.

Phoenix fullback Tim Payne and Macarthur midfielder Clayton Lewis are the other A-League Men players to come in, after Bazeley opted not to call any up during the October window, when their season was yet to begin.

Versatile defender Bill Tuiloma was the most notable omission – one Bazeley put down to the fact that he hasn’t played any minutes at club level with Charlotte in Major League Soccer in the United States since mid-July.

“Bill will be back,” Bazeley said. “He’s an important member of the squad. But I think it is important that these players are playing regularly for their clubs.

“They’re not going to be playing every week. Not many players get that opportunity. But when you haven’t played for so long, it does become difficult to come into camp and perform to your best level, just because you haven’t played football so much.”

Bazeley said the omission of Tuiloma came with him eager to give Surman and Tyler Bindon – the Reading FC defender who made his All Whites debut in October – opportunities in this window, with one eye on next year’s Olympic campaign, which they are both eligible for as under-23 players.

“There are some other players that we want to have a look at in regards to right back and centre back, so I think it was a good opportunity for Bill to have a break – not that he wanted to have a break.”

Payne will be the first-choice right back after impressing for the Phoenix in recent weeks, with Bindon – who has played there for Reading this season – and Dalton Wilkins providing cover. Niko Kirwan, who played there in October, has also been left

Midfielder Joe Bell returns after missing last month’s matches – the first a 1-1 draw with DR Congo – for personal reasons, while Fulham midfielder Matt Dibley-Dias is out after suffering a hamstring injury during the October window, when he was in line to make his debut, and subsequently undergoing surgery.

Nik Tzanev has made way for Paulsen in the goalkeeping ranks, while there was no place for Oli Sail, the first-choice goalkeeper as recently as June. Sail has made a poor start to A-League Men with Perth Glory, which led to him being dropped at the weeken