England injury doubt "will feature" in Six Nations, says club head coach

“He’s okay. It’s been a bit frustrating for him. He’s in a boot at the minute, he picked up an injury right at the end of training in the Bristol week, so he’s just picked up a niggle in his foot," said Gilmore ahead of Quins' Champions Cup match against La Rochelle this weekend.

"He should be coming back through the Six Nations period, it’s not long-term, but probably just more of frustrating one for him and us.”

The 23-year-old has not featured for Quins since their Champions Cup clash with Bayonne in mid-December, exactly a month ago, leading to speculation that his Six Nations involvement could be in doubt.

England begin their campaign against Wales at the Allianz Stadium on 7 February, and while Gilmore admitted it may be slightly early for Baxter to return immediately, he expects him to feature later in the Championship.

“I don’t know about return dates in terms of the Six Nations, but he will feature during the Six Nations, it’ll just be when.”

Baxter has established himself rapidly at both club and international level. After receiving his first senior England call-up in May 2024, he made his Test debut against New Zealand that July before starting the following week at Eden Park.

He scored his first international try in England’s dramatic 26–25 Six Nations win over France in February 2025 and was later awarded an Elite Player Squad contract for the 2025–26 season, becoming only the second Harlequins player after Marcus Smith to receive the honour.

At club level, Baxter has been a standout performer in recent campaigns. He was part of the Harlequins squad that won the Premiership title in 2021, earned Man of the Match in a Champions Cup victory over Racing 92 in 2022, and played a key role in the club’s historic European run in 2023–24.

That included wins over Racing 92, Glasgow Warriors and Bordeaux Bègles, where his scrummaging drew widespread praise, before starting in the semi-final defeat to Toulouse. His season was capped by selection in the Premiership Rugby Team of the Season.