Apple Watch Wallet doesn't sync to show Credit Cards after iPhone upgrade

Hi all,

I have upgraded my phone 12 - to iOS 17.7, (no space to upgrade to iOS 18)

my iPhone shows my credit cards in wallet as well as payment cards on my watch in the watch app per inserted screenshot below. However they have disappeared from my Apple watch. my watch says it cannot be updated unless i first update my phone to iOS 18. Is there anything I can do to fix it? (i understand the route of removing cards to reimport them again, but it says I will lose my history too, and I'm not sure I want that)

Any suggestions?