Exeter hope Henry Slade will be back before the end of the season despite the broken leg and dislocated ankle that have ruled the 22-year-old out of England’s Six Nations plans. The Chiefs’ powerful back-row, Dave Ewers, is also set to miss out on a potential championship debut after suffering knee-ligament damage last month.
With Exeter riding high in the Premiership and set to face Clermont Auvergne in the European Champions Cup this Saturday, the cruel double setback has come at a bad moment for club and country. The only slight consolation is that Slade, who underwent what his director of rugby, Rob Baxter, described as “a pretty major operation” after being injured during Saturday’s big win over Wasps, might not be absent for as long as initially feared.
“We shouldn’t be expecting to see Henry back within four months but he could be back in that time,” said Baxter, encouraged by medical opinion that surgery to insert a plate and wire together the bones just above Slade’s right ankle had gone well. “In 10 weeks’ time we’ll know a lot more accurately. It may be that in March the reality is this season is tough for him or we’re rubbing our hands together because he’s nearly back. It’s a relatively complicated operation but one that people have had done a lot now. The ankle was dislocated as well but it went back in immediately.”
Baxter did concede, though, that the injury had materialised at an unfortunate moment for player and club, with Slade offering Eddie Jones an exciting and versatile midfield option. “With a new England coach and potentially preparing for a Six Nations squad, it’s not great timing,” he added.
It is similarly disappointing for the barnstorming Ewers, who missed out on the World Cup training squad but has been a conspicuous figure in the Chiefs’ rise to second in the table. The 25-year-old has a medial ligament problem and also faces a lengthy lay-off.
“Quite a lot of the ligament has gone so it’s going to take a relatively long time to reattach itself,” said Baxter. “He could be out for eight to 10 weeks.”
Another of Exeter’s growing international contingent, Luke Cowan-Dickie, is also sidelined with a broken thumb although Baxter believes the Cornish hooker could feature in the Six Nations at some stage if selected.
“There’s still a good chance of Luke being up and around. If anybody looks at the first few weeks of his season, he was flying around like a mad thing. He must be almost the worst player to try and run a rugby ball against in world rugby because of the quality of his tackling. That’ll hold him in good stead and he’s starting to put to bed any qualms about his set-piece play.”
The Chiefs’ squad depth, however, is about to be tested, with Slade’s ability to fill both centre positions, kick long-range goals and provide cover for the fly-half Gareth Steenson making him a hugely valuable asset.
Approaching back-to-back European pool games against Clermont, the Top 14 leaders, Baxter will have to rely on others rising to the big occasion. “Any coach will tell you that you can ride injuries if you pick them up when you’re winning. If you’re losing it starts to become a bit of a grind and you’re then fighting on two fronts. At the minute we’re picking up injures but the points are still coming.”
Jones, meanwhile, is scheduled to meet the Premiership’s directors of rugby next week to discuss the way forward as he settles into his new job at Twickenham. The Australian held face-to-face meetings with Andy Farrell, Graham Rowntree and Mike Catt on Monday and has also been sitting down with other Rugby Football Union staff members to canvas their views on England’s premature exit from the World Cup.
The former Japan coach must decide whether to retain some or none of Lancaster’s assistants, with Bristol’s Steve Borthwick already earmarked for a role on the staff. A revised England Six Nations squad has to be identified and picked within the next month, giving Jones a relatively narrow window in which to recruit and install new assistant coaches if he feels that changes are required.
The Wasps No8 Nathan Hughes has been named the Premiership’s player of the month for November. The 24-year-old Hughes will be eligible to play for England following their tour to Australia in June.
