Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

The Exeter update on 'relatively complex' Henry Slade injury setback

England and Exeter midfielder Henry Slade (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Henry Slade is a doubt for England’s Autumn Nations Series after his Exeter boss Rob Baxter issued an injury update on the midfielder on Friday. The 31-year-old was a starter in all three recent Test matches away to Japan and New Zealand (twice) following a Guinness Six Nations campaign where he was an ever present after bouncing back from his Rugby World Cup 2023 omission.

ADVERTISEMENT

Slade revealed on Instagram on Thursday that he had a post-tour operation, writing: “Op done. Now to get stuck into some rehab. The anaesthetic got me.” There were no details at the time as to how long he would be sidelined for, but club boss Baxter has now revealed the prognosis is a three-to-four-month lay-off. 

That time scale would leave Slade racing to be fit for England’s four-game November schedule which begins at home to New Zealand at Twickenham and also features matches versus Australia, South Africa and Japan.  

Video Spacer

Rassie Erasmus reveals new approach to tackling Wallabies

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 1:13
Loaded: 0.00%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 1:13
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected
    • en (Main), selected
    Video Spacer

    Rassie Erasmus reveals new approach to tackling Wallabies

    Exeter issued a statement on Friday, confirming that Slade will miss the start of the 2024/25 campaign. Director of rugby Baxter said: “Henry picked up a shoulder injury during the Guinness Six Nations playing for England earlier this year. 

    “The joint was stable, so Henry was able to play through the rest of the competition and resume playing with us through to the end of the 2023/24 season. We were aware that there was a slight issue, as were England, and it has slightly worsened throughout the summer tour.

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by Henry Slade (@sladey10)

    “After having the shoulder re-scanned and checking in with how Henry feels about his shoulder, we have made the decision that now is the right time to have the operation. Hopefully he can use this down period to complete a strong rehab stint before we get back into rugby.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    “It’s a relatively complex operation which, at this stage, makes it a little difficult to talk about his return to play time. It is likely to be in the three-to-four-month range so unfortunately, he is going to miss a good chunk of the start of the season with us.

    “History has taught us plenty of times that Henry is an incredibly good rehabber. He will return very fit, as he has been in great form for club and country. Although this is unfortunate, we know he is going to work very hard, and I predict he will still have a very big impact on next season both for us and for England.”

    Related

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Boks Office | Episode 39 | The Investec Champions Cup is back

    Argentina v France | HSBC SVNS Hong Kong 2025 | Men's Match Highlights

    New Zealand v Australia | HSBC SVNS Hong Kong 2025 | Women's Match Highlights

    Tokyo Sungoliath vs Shizuoka BlueRevs | Japan Rugby League One 2024/25 | Full Match Replay

    Reds vs Force | Super Rugby W 2025 | Full Match Replay

    The Rise of Kenya | The Report

    New Zealand in Hong Kong | Brady Rush | Sevens Wonders | Episode 4

    The Fixture: How This Rugby Rivalry Has Lasted 59 Years

    Trending on RugbyPass

    Comments

    0 Comments
    Be the first to comment...

    Join free and tell us what you really think!

    Sign up for free
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Latest Features

    Comments on RugbyPass

    N
    NB 1 hour ago
    Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

    https://www.london.edu/think/how-claudio-ranieri-transformed-leicester-city


    He jts knew how to use that deep well of knowledge accumulate over many years of management. A true Moneyball story!

    167 Go to comments
    f
    fl 1 hour ago
    Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

    “Two comparable achievements 15 years apart (at different clubs in different leagues) represent failure and not continued success for an elite level coach/manager? Not even a hint of consistency? Just gradual, inevitable decline? And all because he is in his sixth decade?”

    Why don’t you try reading what I wrote before you start inventing a load of other random things that I didn’t say. I said “Pep hasn’t gotten better with age”. He hasn’t. I don’t think he’s got much worse, and yeah, he’s been fairly consistent over his career and has had more success than almost any other coach. But he hasn’t gotten better.


    “You’ve missed that Mourinho’s early start in football was as a translator for Bobby Robson (ironically a much older manager at the time!).”

    I was actually aware of that. I didn’t mention it because it wasn’t relevant to the fact that Mourinho - aged 52 - had more experience than Arteta does at 43. It also isn’t ironic that Bobby Robson was a much older manager at the time - it actually confirms by point that a lot of the top football managers used to be older than they are today.


    “You suggested that Les Kiss would not be suited to an international coaching role because of his age profile…that seemed to relate to rugby”

    That did relate to rugby. Let me walk you through the thread…


    NB suggested that Les Kiss should become Australia head coach in 2027.

    I said: “Given the drop off so many top coaches seem to experience as they get older (e.g. Jones, Gatland) Kiss could be a riskier appointment than you’d think!”

    NB said: “Drawing a parallel with the NFL and NBA, plenty of coaches stay well into their 70’s”

    I said: “Not all sports are going the same way though” then gave the example of football.


    The example of football was introduced in order to make the point that the age profile of managers is not the same in every sport. If you had read the thread you were replying to you would know this!

    167 Go to comments
    LONG READ
    LONG READ Munster-ROG reunion a ‘love story’ but no return likely for La Rochelle boss Munster-ROG reunion a ‘love story’ but no return likely for La Rochelle boss
    Search