Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter hopes that the ankle injury suffered by Immanuel Feyi-Waboso while playing for England is not too serious. The 23-year-old was forced off at half-time during Sunday’s 45-22 Nations Championship victory against Australia at Twickenham.
Injury Assessment and Recovery Timeline
The injury has ended Feyi-Waboso’s involvement with England for the remainder of the autumn international period, though he could potentially feature for Exeter again before the conclusion of the year. He is scheduled to meet with a surgeon on Thursday to review scans on the injury before a comprehensive recovery plan is put in place.
“The balance of opinion at the moment, both from ourselves and England, is that he’s unlikely to require an operation,” Baxter told BBC Sport.
“If it’s a decent high ankle sprain, I think you’re talking a minimum of four to six weeks really, but obviously it’s just so difficult to know. Manny’s the kind of guy, sometimes he might be running on this in a week’s time and then that changes the whole timescale, so it’s a little early to say yet.”
Impact on Exeter’s Squad
The setback represents the latest blow to Exeter’s back three, a position group that has suffered a series of injuries throughout the season. Campbell Ridl is sidelined for the majority of the campaign with a knee ligament injury, while Tommy Wyatt remains a month away from fitness due to an ankle problem. Meanwhile, Paul Brown-Bampoe returned to action in the Prem Rugby Cup loss to Bath last week following a summer heel surgery.
These absences have forced Exeter to deploy centre Zack Wimbush out wide in recent weeks, although Dallas McLeod has joined the club following his summer transfer from New Zealand to bolster the position. Baxter acknowledged the team’s testing situation regarding personnel.
“That’s kind of how it happens, you’ve just got to get on with things,” Baxter added.
“We’ve just got to hope we get through this international period without any further injuries. We’re obviously getting more guys up and running and getting good game time into them through his Prem Cup period. You’ve got to look on the positives of it, let’s hope this injury to Manny isn’t too bad and he can crack on in this period. Hopefully, Paul will get right up to speed. If we can get Manny back in that four to six week period – who knows, it might be longer – hopefully we can start to pull things together a bit there.”
