Exeter suffer Chris Whitehead injury blow

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter has confirmed today that hooker Chris Whitehead is likely to miss the next three months as he looks to cure an on-going neck issue.
The 26-year-old forward, who recently penned a new two-year contract with the Chiefs, is due to undergo surgery later this week.
Baxter said: “Chris has a relatively serious injury and is going to have an operation on Tuesday, and he is going to be out for ten to 12 weeks.
“Chris has an on-going neck problem, a typical hooker’s problem, a bit of a degenerative issue, which we ultimately have to make a decision on. It is either a case of letting it get worse or deal with it now.
“Our other three hookers – Neil Clark, Simon Alcott and Jack Yeandle – are fit and raring to go, so we felt the time was right now. Chris is going to be with us for a long time. We don’t want to keep playing him when the injury is worsening, and end up breaking him. We feel it is right to get him treated now, get him 100 per cent, and he should be back before the end of the season.”