Exeter lose breakout winger Campbell Ridl to long-term knee injury
Exeter Chiefs will be without breakout winger Campbell Ridl for much of the new season after the 21-year-old damaged knee ligaments in pre-season.
Ridl, an England Under-20 international, was hurt in Exeter's opening warm-up game, a defeat by Welsh side Scarlets. The winger — the wide player tasked with finishing chances — was not hit. He slowed to pass, felt the knee go, tried to carry on and then came off a few minutes later, according to BBC Sport.
Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter confirmed the worst. Ridl has torn the anterior cruciate ligament, the key stabilising band inside the knee, with additional cartilage damage.
Baxter said the recovery will take the majority of the season. That means longer than six months. Rehab from this type of injury often runs from six to nine months or more.
It is a cruel blow. Ridl scored 17 tries in 24 games last season. That run included a score at Twickenham in Exeter's Premiership final defeat by Northampton Saints.
He forced his way into the team in the second half of the campaign. He grabbed back-to-back hat-tricks in the Prem Rugby Cup in February. Then he scored six tries in six league games between mid-March and mid-May.
Exeter also confirmed a second setback. Lock Andrea Zambonin, the second-row forward who powers the scrum and lineout, is out until November with a shoulder problem.
For fans, this means Exeter start the season without their sharpest finisher. Ridl's pace stretched defences wide and turned half-chances into tries. Replacing 17 tries will take more than one player.
