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England give Feyi-Waboso the all-clear for final as Chiefs get double boost
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Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter has declared England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso fit for Saturday’s Gallagher Prem final against Northampton Saints at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.
Feyi-Waboso, who missed last weekend’s win over Bath at the Rec, has been in training this week after having an operation on a facial fracture he suffered in the Chiefs’ win over Leicester Tigers at Welford Road at the end of May.
And after talks with England’s medical team, who since 2024 have had the final say in the availability of top stars under the enhanced elite player squad contract, Baxter has been cleared to pick one of his biggest names.
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It’s avoided a club v country tug-of-war over Feyi-Waboso, unlike last year when the Chiefs wanted him to have an operation on a shoulder injury while England favoured a rehabilitation approach before he eventually underwent the surgeon’s scalpel.
“Manny has been declared fit. So he had a full training week, and we’ll make that call probably by the end of today. He’s an international-quality player.
“And I think, well, the more players you have fit and available at this stage of the season who’ve played in big games and had big influences on games. But then that can only be a very positive thing for us.
“I wasn’t involved in the conversation. It was our medical team, with the England medical team, and with Manny. So basically, all the information was put in front of him.
“It was a managed call. It’s not something I’ve had to be involved with. The call happened earlier in the week, and the decision was made. And we’ve gone from there,” he said.
In a double boost, another winger, Campbell Ridl, has been passed fit after taking a bang on the knee during the win at Bath, and a scan revealed no serious damage.
“Campbell’s come through pretty well. He took another pretty bad bang and already had a bit of a banged-up knee, and he took another blow fairly early in the game. So we took him off because of that, and to look after him a little bit.
“And so just make sure he didn’t have a worse injury. The scans show no major damage. So he’s been declared ready to go,” added Baxter.
