Olly Woodburn injury blow for Exeter Chiefs

Subsequent checks revealed the full extent of the injury and the 26-year-old underwent surgery earlier this week to repair the break.

“Olly is going to be out for a little while. He had a facial injury and has had an operation already on his face and jaw,” said Baxter. “He is going to be out for a little while. I can’t say too much on timings because these things are very changeable, but he is going to be out for at least a few weeks.

“It looks like it is likely to be weeks – at this stage we are not looking at anything ridiculously serious. We are hoping this will sort itself out quite quickly.”

There is further doubt around Australian scrum-half Nic White who is struggling with a foot injury.

“Nic White is hobbling on his foot at the moment. It is a bit too early to say how that is,” Baxter continued. “He has a pretty sore foot so we will assess it as he goes along. We’re not sure where he is (fitness-wise) yet.”

The Exeter boss does have a number of options at his disposal with a few key players returning from injury. 

Baxter said: “The flipside of what have been a few frustrating injuries is that this week we have the likes of Dave Dennis, Jonny Hill, Ben Moon and Dave Ewers all back in full training.

“Jack Nowell is running around and Alex Cuthbert featured on Monday night, while Sam Hill is running around and almost back in full training.”