Argentina's Cruz Mallia facing months on sidelines as history repeats itself

Argentina and Toulouse utility back Juan Cruz Mallia is facing a potentially lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a fresh injury to his right knee during the Pumas’ defeat to Ireland in Dublin.

The 30-year-old was forced off during Friday night’s Nations Championship encounter, sparking fears that he may have damaged the same knee on which he underwent surgery less than a year ago following an anterior cruciate ligament rupture.

Mallia was hit late in midfield by Ireland second-row James Ryan, and sadly it appears to be a case of history repeating itself in terms of the nature of the tackle and the injury he sustained.

The Los Pumas full-back previously ruptured his ACL following another late tackle from back-rower Tom Curry a year ago during a bad-tempered 27-23 loss to England in the 2025 Autumn Nations Series.

According to French outlet Le Figaro, Mallia has returned to Toulouse for further medical examinations to determine the extent of the injury, with the Top 14 giants anxiously awaiting the results.

The injury concern adds to Toulouse’s growing casualty list following the weekend’s Nations Championship action, following an injury for France star Romain Ntamack.

Ntamack injured himself after just 33 minutes of his return for Les Bleus while on international duty against Fiji and is expected to be out of action until the New Year after dislocating his shoulder.

With Matthieu Jalibert, Thomas Ramos and Antoine Hastoy also unavailable, France head coach Fabien Galthié is running short of fly-half options and has been forced into a major squad reshuffle just days before facing the world champions.

While no timeframe has yet been placed on Mallia’s recovery, reports in France suggest Toulouse could explore bringing in a medical joker should the injury prove serious enough to keep him out for an extended period.