The 19-year-old had been playing through low level knee pain but tried to push through, unaware he was tempting fate with scans revealing a concerning injury.
"It's basically an old fracture at the bottom of my thigh bone in my leg," Wood told NMFC.com.au on Monday.
"It's apparently from when I was growing, just really active kids can get these little cracks in their femur. If they'd caught it when I was younger, they would have told me to take 12-18 months off and hope it would heal, but no one could ever really tell me what it was so I just kept plodding along."
Wood now knows had the injury not been identified by North medical staff, it could have had long-term implications on his career.
"I've had knee pain for several years but no one could tell me what was wrong with it so I just kept playing and it never really got better, I just put up with it. The medical team noticed a difference in the way I was moving and wanted to check it out.
"The MRI showed my knee had a crack the size of a 20 cent piece in it. What they had to do was put about four screws in. It was pretty surprising, after I had it for so long, then they found the crack and I got fast-tracked to having surgery last week."
Despite the months of rehabilitation ahead, the young forward is remaining positive already counting down the days until he can return.
"I was feeling a bit down initially but it will be good to get on top of this. It will help my body and football ten-fold in the future," Wood explained.
"I'm already thinking about two weeks time when I can start riding the bike and then swim. I'm looking forward to doing some upper body and core work-outs because after you train flat out for 7-8 months coming to a complete halt...you have withdrawals and want to be doing something.
"I'm not allowed to run for about three months but there's a lot of other stuff I can do."
Director of Medical Services Steve Saunders said Wood's operation will set him up for a strong return to full training at the end of the year.
"Our doctor Andy McMahon and the surgeon Dr Hayden Morris are very pleased with how everything went," Saunders said.
"We expect Mason to commence the 2014 pre-season with the main squad."
Keeping everything in perspective, Wood knows the hard-work he does now will pay off down the track.
"If I wasn't going to get it done now, it would be at the end of the season and that would compromise next year. Better that I do it now and have a full crack at next season.
"I haven't had any pain from the surgery and I'm feeling good. It was the right time to do it and it's a small price to pay for future gain."
Injury list
Currie - bruised heel (test)
Warren - collarbone (3 weeks)
Wood - knee (Season)
Curran - foot (Season)
