End of season for Exeter’s Wildschut’s injury “serious blow”

Exeter City head coach Gary Caldwell says Yanic Wildschut is receiving the best care after a knee injury ruled him out for the rest of the season.

The 32-year-old winger was stretchered off the pitch in City's final pre-season friendly against Eastleigh earlier this month after tearing a ligament in his knee.

This comes after the Surinamese international signed a new one-year deal after originally joining in September 2023.

“It's a big blow for him in particular because he has worked extremely hard in the off-season,” Caldwell told BBC Radio Devon.

“He reminded us of the old Yanic from back at Wigan – he had power and ability in one-on-one situations, so this is a big blow for him.”

“But we will support him as a club, the medical team we have here is fantastic.

“I’m sure the boys will look after him, he’s a really popular player in the dressing room.

“We obviously have to look for replacements within the squad and also keep an eye on the bigger picture as the transfer window is still open. We have to think about how we approach this and how we restructure recruitment so that we have the squad we need for the future.”

Fellow winger Demetri Mitchell is expected to return in late September after suffering a similar injury last October.

However, Caldwell says Wildschut's long-term absence means he will have to rethink his transfer priorities before the transfer window closes.

“With Deme lined up and hopefully returning later in September, we believe there is a suitable replacement on that side,” he said.

“I think we can assess where we stand as a club and possibly score another goal thanks to Yanic.”

“There are definitely a few players we want to bring in. Then we will see where we are, talk to the club about finances and see what we need to do before the end of the transfer window.”