Exeter deliver 'good picture' injury update on Vermeulen, Wimbush

Rob Baxter has expressed satisfaction that injury fears over Jacques Vermeulen and Zack Wimbush aren’t as bad as initially feared. The Chiefs lost back-rower Vermeulen to a 54th-minute setback in last Saturday’s pre-season win over Ulster, while midfielder Wimbush was last involved in the previous weekend’s loss to Ospreys.

Director of rugby Baxter has now held his media briefing ahead of next Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership opener at home to Leicester and he was happy with the injury outlook surrounding Vermeulen and Wimbush, along with the longer-term prognosis for Henry Slade, Dafydd Jenkins and Tommy Wyatt who are all on the mend following surgery.

“Jacques Vermeulen took a bang at the weekend,” he reported via a Wednesday morning Zoom call. ‘We are still kind of assessing really how bad that is but it is certainly not as bad as out initial fears were, so that’s a good picture.

“Zack Wimbush has got a foot injury. We are still waiting on a surgeon’s input on that, on his opinion, but it looks like it’s unlikely to need an operation. That’s just going to have a good rehab period.

“Outside of that we look pretty good, we are ticking along okay. We didn’t pick up too much at the weekend, the odd bumps and bruises that you would expect from a good physical encounter against a good physical Ulster side, so we feel we are locked in for this weekend.”

Regarding his longer-term absentees, Baxter added: “They could all be back in and around the same period, which is around that autumn international/our Prem Cup period. That is what we are hopeful of.

“Some guys might be a couple of weeks forward, they might be a couple of weeks back but we are taking roughly those timescales for those three which is surprising how quickly it starts to feel it is coming around.”