Exeter boss Rob Baxter has dismissed reviews that England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie’s transfer to French champions Montpellier is beneath risk.
Cowan-Dickie has been sidelined by an ankle damage since early January, whereas he’s additionally understood to be affected by some nerve points in his neck.
It has been instructed that 29-year-old Cowan-Dickie missed a latest medical in France, riling Montpellier chiefs, who’ve additionally signed his Exeter and England colleague Sam Simmonds for subsequent season.
“I’ve had discussions with Luke and he said he hasn’t failed his medical. It is something that has massively been blown out of proportion,” Exeter rugby director Baxter stated.
“I feel he’s popping over once more simply to complete off a few bits the French wish to examine when it comes to his accidents.
“He hasn’t failed a medical and he hasn’t not turned up for a medical.
“I’m not saying it’s completely pie within the sky as a result of all the pieces has somewhat little bit of reality in it. But so far as he has not turned up and so they’ve rolled up the contract and thrown it away, that isn’t the case.
“If the element (of truth) is a drink in a bar at some stage, then I would say probably yes. Other than that, I think there has probably been a fair bit of journalistic licence in a few things that have happened.
“I believe they (Montpellier) want some more information on the nerve damage around the last operation.
“All I know is Luke has said there has been a fair bit of over-hype around everything. At this stage, Luke is being told everything is okay. Reports it is all done and his contract is over couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Cowan-Dickie is amongst various Exeter gamers leaving the membership this summer season, though Chiefs would step in if the Montpellier deal fell by.
“If it all falls through, I would expect us to have a look into the possibilities of trying to, at the very least, look after him during his injury rehab and go from there. That would be my expectation,” Baxter added.
“He has been a very important player for us, he has played in some significant games for us. We would look to do something to look after him, of course we would.
“The nerve issue is a timescale one. Historically, they can take a long time or you can recover quickly. It is a bit ‘how long is a piece of string’?
“I know England are investigating if there is anything they can do to speed up the process, as we are, but it is not a problem that has a definitive answer.”
Chiefs’ England wing Jack Nowell, in the meantime, is ready to be concerned in Sunday’s Heineken Champions Cup semi-final in opposition to La Rochelle in Bordeaux after recovering from a knee challenge.
It may even be Nowell’s first look since he was charged with conduct prejudicial to the pursuits of the Rugby Football Union and the sport after his Chiefs team-mate Olly Woodburn acquired a second yellow card in Exeter’s 62-19 Gallagher Premiership defeat in opposition to Leicester.
Woodburn had dived on Chris Ashton on the ground and upon seeing referee Karl Dickson’s determination, Nowell stated in a since-deleted tweet: “I’m actually in shock, like shock shocked. What the hell is happening? That’s one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen. EVER.”
The England wing accepted the cost at a disciplinary listening to and was fined £10,000.
Baxter stated: “He is a bit disappointed and frustrated with what happened around his tweet. It was one of those scenarios where he has used incorrect language to express a frustration with the game.
“Anyone who knows Jack, and knows his relationship with referees, will know there was nothing in there personally targeted at the ref.
“It can end up looking like that, he is aware of that, he has apologised for what he did and he has just got to get on with things now.
“It is a lesson for other players that sometimes you can react in the heat of the moment. You have just got to be careful what you say.”