Exeter boss excited as Wyatt returns from injury

Exeter boss Rob Baxter hopes full-back Tommy Wyatt can return to his best form after overcoming his second serious knee injury.

The 26-year-old returned to action last weekend in Exeter's pre-season friendly loss to Scarlets at Sandy Park, where he played the first half.

He missed the entirety of last season after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the final game of the 2024-25 campaign.

Wyatt had missed much of 2024 having suffered a similar injury in his other knee.

"Tommy did what Tommy does, he had some really good carries and looked very elusive with the ball," Baxter told BBC Sport.

"It's going to take him a little while probably 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.

"I actually said to him after, because he's come off after 40 minutes without an injury, I said 'now we can start being a bit picky and we can really try to pull your game apart and get you moving forward quickly'.

"So that's the nice thing now, he's playing, we can review his games properly and we can look at him like a player, not a rehab guy, and that's what's going to be great for Tommy now."

Having missed so much rugby over the past two and a half years, Wyatt will be like a new signing for the side.

He played 10 Premiership and European Champions Cup games in the 2024-25 season as well as helping Exeter reach the final of the Premiership Rugby Cup.

Baxter says he is excited about having another attacking threat when the season begins, starting with Exeter's Prem Rugby Cup clash with Bristol on Saturday.

"People need to remember when he got injured he was one of the leading game breakers in the Premiership at the time," Baxter added.

"He was the guy who was leading the stats on defenders beaten, metres gained post-contact.

"If we get that kind of guy back again, that's going to be a huge asset for us."