Tom Hooper to miss Exeter’s Harlequins match after Bristol knock

Tom Hooper will miss Exeter’s home match against Harlequins on Saturday after picking up a knock against Bristol the previous week, according to the Guardian. The Australia forward’s absence was reported in an interview published on Friday, in which he discussed his workload, an earlier injury and his first year with the Chiefs.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsAtI8ltIn8

The report did not identify the nature of the latest knock or provide a recovery timetable. It comes after a separate injury in July, when Hooper fractured a shoulder blade against Ireland. He described the rehabilitation from that problem as a useful opportunity to take a break and build strength before returning to rugby in England.

Hooper, 25, said he remained enthusiastic about the demands of professional rugby despite a schedule involving matches in both hemispheres and long-distance travel. He put that workload in the context of his childhood ambitions, explaining that his younger self at Bathurst Bulldogs would have welcomed the chance to play around 30 games a year as a professional.

The forward has won 25 caps for Australia, the Guardian reported. He also described the frustration of watching the Wallabies face New Zealand recently while he was not injured. Exeter training coincided with the international, and his attempt to avoid learning the result ended when he encountered the score on a television at Sandy Park.

Away from the injury update, Hooper said he had settled well at Exeter since arriving a year ago. He praised the welcome from the club’s international players and described enjoying the Devon coast and Dartmoor. Director of rugby Rob Baxter linked the club’s appeal to Australians to the area’s open spaces and Exeter’s traditional club environment, following a succession of Australian players who have played there.

Hooper also expressed confidence in Australia’s potential for the Rugby World Cup on home soil next year, while making fitness an important condition of that assessment. He pointed to the back row’s work rate and the attacking options available out wide. Those comments were his assessment of the squad’s prospects, rather than confirmation of his own availability following the Bristol knock.