PREM breakthrough star Campbell Ridl suffers 'significant' injury

Exeter Chiefs are expected to confirm this week that highly-rated winger Campbell Ridl will miss most, if not all, of the 2026-27 season after a scan reveals that he has suffered an ACL injury.

The former England under-20 international, who also plays full-back and outside centre, enjoyed an outstanding breakout campaign with the Chiefs last season, scoring 17 tries in 21 appearances.

One of his tries came in the Gallagher PREM Final defeat to Northampton Saints at Twickenham, and he is widely regarded as one of the brightest young talents in the game.

“Campbell Ridl looks like it’s going to be a significant knee injury,” Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter told BBC Radio Devon before Saturday’s 45-21 PREM Rugby Cup win over Bristol Bears at Sandy Park.

Another player to undergo a scan will be full-back Tommy Wyatt, who, after only just returning from back-to-back knee injuries, is now facing a spell on the sidelines with a shoulder problem.

Baxter said that Wyatt will have a scan on the injury he picked up against the Bears, but the initial fear is that he is facing more time on the sidelines, a massive blow after he only made his comeback against the Scarlets ten days ago.

But he expects his big guns, such as Henry Slade, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ross Vintcent and Stephen Varney, to play at least an hour against Cardiff this weekend ahead of the Gallagher PREM season opener against Gloucester.

“We probably need to give our internationals at least 60 minutes, but we’re going to take an extended squad, so if anybody starts to pull up a little tight or has a little niggle we don’t need to leave anybody on the field.

“I think it’s important that we get a bit of game time into a few guys that we feel have only had limited pre-season game time to get them ready for the season starting,” added Baxter.