12:21pm, 19 June 2019

Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter has confirmed Jack Nowell has undergone successful surgery on the ankle injury he picked up during the Gallagher Premiership final earlier this month.

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The England and Lions star was forced from the field with 10 minutes remaining in the second half after trying to tackle Saracens winger Sean Maitland as he closed in on the try line.

Nowell underwent initial scans on both his knee and ankle in the aftermath of the final, which ended in a 37-34 victory for the Londoners who added the Premiership title to their Heineken Champions Cup crown.

Since then, the Cornishman has been away on holiday with his family. He then returned to Exeter and underwent surgery on his ankle on Tuesday.

Although Baxter has not put a timescale on when he expects Nowell to be fully fit again, he did offer a positive outlook.

“Jack has had an operation on his ankle and at this stage we see no reason why it should jeopardise him being involved with England at the Rugby World Cup nor with us heading into the new season,” said the Sandy Park director of rugby.

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In the aftermath of the June 1 final at Twickenham, Baxter had said: “It’s a little early to say about Jack. I haven’t been able to catch up with him or the medics who are dealing with him.

“I would imagine it will be the usual story – until he has a scan we won’t know. It looked like his ankle and he has had a couple of ankle issues this season. He was outstanding. He was very difficult to put on the floor, very strong, quick and elusive.”

Eddie Jones has been using the 26-year-old mostly as a winger and having started three of their recent Six Nations matches, the expectation is he will travel to Japan for the World Cup if he manages to prove his fitness.

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WATCH: Part one of the two-part RugbyPass documentary series on what the fans can expect in Japan at the World Cup

