England will ‘make final call’ on Immanuel Feyi-Waboso as Rob Baxter issues injury update ahead of PREM semi-final

Exeter Chiefs look set to be without star winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso for their crucial PREM Rugby semi-final against Bath, but the England international could be back involved for the final should they reach it.

The England star suffered a jaw injury in their round 17 victory over Leicester Tigers and underwent surgery last week.

“After extensive monitoring by the Chiefs medical team and investigative scans, a decision has been made in partnership with England Rugby for Feyi-Waboso to undergo surgery,” a club statement read.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso injury update ahead of Bath semi-final

Despite his absence last weekend, Feyi-Waboso has once again been a standout performer for the Chiefs this season, particularly in the latter stages with four tries in his last seven outings, but Exeter will again have to make do without him when they head to the Rec.

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“He’s away with England at the moment in their camp, because he couldn’t do any training with us beyond the rehab situation he’s in,” said Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter. “It’s an assessment on a weekly basis. Right here and now, he’s not available this weekend, but we’ll look at the start of next week to do an assessment; that’s how these things go.

“It’s a difficult one. He knew he’d picked up a bang, but he thought he’d just loosened a tooth at the time. It was only when he had the X-rays done to assess his tooth that it came out. He’s a physical player and when you run quickly, you run into things hard. But with this injury, he’s just been unfortunate; it’s just one of those rugby things where hard parts of bodies hit each other and something breaks.

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“It’s unfortunate for Manny with us having such a big end to the season.”

But, while Exeter are hopeful he could be back for the final, should they make it, Baxter admitted they won’t rush him back into the fold and risk any long-term issues.

“He will not be rushed back into any match situation,” said the DoR. “He’s on an enhanced EPS contract, so England will make the final call anyway. There’s a process that goes along with it, and it gets agreed on with the surgeon who did the operation.

“That’s what it’ll come down to, it won’t come down to me saying ‘I want Manny this weekend’. He’ll need to be made available.”

There is also some concern over back-rower Ethan Roots, too, who was taken off in the second-half of the 32-12 win over Saracens last weekend with a head injury.

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“Ethan took a heavy blow and was removed under head injury protocols,” Baxter detailed. “We’ve got to go through the process with him to see if he gets there.”

Elsewhere, Exeter could be boosted by the return of Greg Fisilau, who also missed the Saracens clash with a facial injury.

“Greg isn’t too bad. He’s one we’re monitoring, and hopefully, he has the opportunity to be back. He’s one we’re expecting to see, and hopefully that’s this week.

“It was just a bang around his eye socket. Initially, it needed a lot of checking through and assessing; it’s a delicate area if there’s any damage there. We needed to make sure we got all the bits and pieces right and everything settled down and was stable, but everything looks fine.

“We’ll try and progress that through quickly.”

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