Morgan Parra
France have been hit by an injury crisis with scrumhalf Morgan Parra and backs Wesley Fofana and Remi Lamerat ruled out Monday for the rest of the Six Nations campaign.
Parra will miss the rest of the Six Nations after being ruled out for at least 10 weeks with a knee injury.
Parra, who plays for Clermont in the Top 14, suffered a tear to the posterior ligament in his right knee during France’s 13 / 20 defeat to Wales at the Stade de France on Saturday.
The 26-year-old’s knee will be immobilised for 4 weeks and according to a Clermont statement: “his return to competition won’t be possible before 10 weeks”.
Parra was sidelined with a similar injury on his left knee in 2013.
He will also miss Clermont’s match against Northampton in the European Champions Cup next month.
Parra damaged his knee in the first half in Paris, but kept playing until the 53rd minute when he was replaced by Sebastien Tillous Borde.
Clermont teammate Wesley Fofana is also likely to miss the rest of the Six Nations after coming off during the 13 / 20 defeat against Wales on Saturday.
Fofana is out for up to 3 weeks with a torn thigh muscle.
The Paris-born back, 27, who operates at centre or wing, made his international debut in 2012 and has been at Clermont since 2008, helping the side win the French championship in 2010.
Fofana could be back for the Northampton clash.
But there was more bad news for France when Castres international centre Lamerat was announced to have a strained hamstring.
“It’s a strained hamstring and 2 weeks out,” Lamerat, who came off in the 18th minute of the defeat against Wales, said.
There was some positive news for the ailing French when it was revealed that flyhalf Francois Trinh-Duc is close to returning to action after 5 months out with a broken tibia.
The Montpellier star is still not 100% but his club coach Jake White says a return to competition is imminent.
“He’s on good form and has worked hard on his physical condition,” said White. He added that Trinh-Duc could play a top level game, but not for a full 80 minutes.
“The only thing missing is the mental side. If he is ready and if he feels good enough to play, he will play but if he still has doubts, the last thing I can do is to put him in the team when he is lacking in confidence to play at this level,” added White.
France opened their Six Nations campaign with a win over Scotland but have since suffered defeats in Ireland and at home to Wales.
Their final 2 matches are against Italy and England.
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