New setback all but ends Immanuel Feyi-Waboso's Lions hopes

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s fading hopes of being fit for the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia have finally evaporated after it emerged that he has undergone a second shoulder operation.

The England winger was already battling to be fit enough to prove his fitness to Lions boss Andy Farrell after a delayed shoulder operation was set to keep him on the sidelines for around three months.

But he won’t play again until next season after Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter revealed that the decision was taken for the medical student to have more surgery in what is clearly a massive setback.

“Manny is going well,” he said. “He is moving forward as we would expect him to. Now we have got this break because of the one operation. He is now having a couple of other little bits and pieces tidied up as well.

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“Ourselves and England discussed if it was worth getting things done now, and that’s what has been done. There is no point in waiting three months for his other shoulder to recover.

“His other shoulder has been niggling him, so we are now getting that sorted out now, and hopefully, he will bounce back and be ready to go for that start of next season,” said Baxter.

Meanwhile, Baxter has backed Henry Slade to bounce back and prove to England coach Steve Borthwick that he was wrong to dump him from his squad for their final two Guinness Six Nations games against Italy and Wales.

“I messaged Henry and told him if there was anybody who could bounce back and fight their way back into a team, it was him. He has had knock backs before and come back from them.

“If you are going to back someone to come back and be the form player in his position, it’s Henry Slade. I have got zero doubts he will be the top performer over the remainder of the season.

“That’s where he will create questions about what people are going to do and whether he goes on tours. He will make sure that happens. I am certain of that,” added the Chiefs director of rugby.