Baxter backs Woodburn to come back after surgery

Olly Woodburn scored one try in eight appearances for Exeter this season

Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter has backed winger Olly Woodburn to return from his knee ligament injury.

The 33-year-old winger is likely to miss much of 2025 as he prepares to undergo surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament he injured against Gloucester.

Woodburn started eight of Exeter's first nine games in the Premiership this season before being hurt on 29 December.

Since first joining from Bath in the summer of 2015 he has scored 60 tries in 182 games.

"Any big operation can create issues down the line. The one thing I will say is that I think Olly is particularly diligent in how he looks after his body," Baxter said.

"He's had a couple of very good years for us and they're largely based on his day-to-day maintenance, how he's not deconditioned in off-seasons, how he's been very good through each pre-season over the last two or three seasons.

"So there isn't necessarily an indicator, other than age, that it becomes a major issue."

Woodburn and prop Ehren Painter, 26, have suffered similar injuries and both will undergo surgery soon.

Baxter says their recoveries might take longer as there are complications with their injuries.

"Both he and Ehren, unfortunately, they're not just straightforward ACLs - nice and clean and you go get the ACL done and out you come," he explained.

"Both of them involve other things, either other ligaments or cartilage and bits and pieces, so that both they're both not straightforward.

"Ehren's is worse, he's got a fair bit of cartilage damage in there - his is going to be a multiple operation situation."