England center Henry Slade will play at Exeter this weekend to prove his fitness ahead of England’s opening match against New Zealand in the autumn on November 2.
The 31-year-old underwent shoulder surgery in the summer and is yet to make an appearance for the club this season.
But he is due to return early from England’s training camp in Girona to prepare for Sunday’s Premiership clash with Harlequins.
“He wanted to play rugby, we wanted him to learn rugby, so he will learn rugby,” England assistant Richard Wigglesworth said.
Slade, who has won 65 caps, was suddenly left out of Rugby World Cup squads but has established himself as one of Steve Borthwick’s main players over the past year.
He started all eight of England’s Test matches in 2024 and partnered Olly Lawrence in midfield for the last six matches.
If Slade can regain some sharpness of his game at Chiefs, this center pairing is likely to feature against the All Blacks.
Wigglesworth told BBC Sport: “We’ll see in training today (Wednesday) how he’s doing, if he can get through everything and if he’s really happy.” .
“Exeter will play the same way over the next few days and we will make a decision on Monday or Tuesday.
“We have missed one training session whereas Exeter go and play for a few minutes.”
Meanwhile, Sale fly-half George Ford is close to returning to full training following a quadriceps injury and will be in contention for next weekend’s spot.
“George is in the final stages of his rehabilitation,” added Wigglesworth. “He’s probably ahead of schedule and will be playing quite a bit of rugby this week.”
