Virimi Vakatawa withdrawn from France's Six Nations squad as Les Bleus injury toll rises
Trending on RugbyPass
- 1 Fiji rocked by sackings
- 2 Springboks fans and even former players go after Luke Pearce
- 3 'At my best I was the quickest in the Prem...'
- 4 All Black captain credits Mo'unga for dismantling Boks
- 5 Roos one of severals omissions as Springboks name 34-man squad
France have been dealt another personnel blow in the lead-up to their Six Nations campaign, as star midfielder Virimi Vakatawa has been withdrawn from the Les Bleus squad due to a knee injury.
Vakatawa was named in Fabien Galthie’s 37-man squad earlier this month as one of four midfielders alongside Gael Fickou, Arthur Vincent and uncapped prospect Julien Delbouis.
However, the powerful 28-year-old has been removed from the squad and replaced by two-test Lyon midfielder Pierre-Louis Barassi after he sustained a knee injury while playing for Racing 92 over the weekend.
Vakatawa left the field early in the first half of his side’s 33-32 Top 14 defeat to Bordeaux in Paris on Saturday, and the 27-test star will undergo a scan to assess the extent of the damage.
His injury blow is a cruel one for France following the loss of other key players in recent weeks.
Star loose forward Gregory Alldritt was a surprise omission from the French squad last Thursday. The 23-year-old went on to reveal that he is undergoing an examination for an injured knee.
Three days before that, fullback Thomas Ramos was withdrawn from the squad due to a groin issue, which is expected to rule him out for three weeks.
Both players could still yet feature in the Six Nations, but both have been replaced by four-test back rower Cameron Woki and eight-test outside back Vincent Rattez.
The French squad will assemble for a training camp in Nice today as they eye an improvement on their second-place finishes in last year’s Six Nations and Autumn Nations Cup.
France will then open their 2021 Six Nations campaign against Italy in Rome on February 7.
Comments
Join free and tell us what you really think!
Join Free