Baxter hails Wyatt's return from two years of knee injuries as Exeter eye Premiership opener

Rob Baxter has welcomed Tommy Wyatt back from almost two years on the sidelines after the Exeter Chiefs full-back played 40 minutes of a pre-season fixture against the Scarlets last weekend — his first appearance since suffering a second serious knee ligament injury.

The head coach acknowledged that some rustiness was inevitable after such a prolonged absence, with Wyatt making a handful of uncharacteristic handling errors during the outing. Baxter, however, was quick to frame those mistakes as entirely expected rather than concerning, pointing instead to the encouraging signs in how the 23-year-old moved and carried the ball.

“Tommy did what Tommy does,” Baxter said. “He had some really good carries, looked very elusive with the ball. It’s going to take him a little while to regain that touch. He made a few errors on the ball, a couple of little knock-ons and bits and pieces that you wouldn’t really expect — well, you wouldn’t expect it when he’s up and running completely, but you maybe would expect it after 18 months or two years of injury issues.”

Crucially, Wyatt came through the 40 minutes without any physical setback, which Baxter said immediately shifts the dynamic around the player’s development. The Exeter boss told Wyatt directly after the game that the rehabilitation phase is now behind him and a more demanding coaching process can begin.

“I actually said to him after, because he came off after 40 minutes without an injury: ‘Now we can start being a bit picky, and we can really try to pull your game apart and get you moving forward quickly,’” Baxter explained. “He’s playing, we can review his games properly, and we can look at him like a player, not a rehab guy. That’s going to be great for Tommy now.”

Exeter open their Gallagher Premiership campaign against Gloucester at Sandy Park at the end of the month, giving the coaching staff a narrow window to sharpen Wyatt’s match fitness before competitive rugby resumes.