mens
international
France and Toulouse Second row Emmanuel Meafou will be sidelined for up to three months after picking up a knee injury against Valves in Top 14 on Saturday, French edition The Depeche have reported.
The 28-year-old suffered the injury in the dying seconds of his side’s 29-23 win over the league newcomers after an illegal tackle on his French team-mate Rodrigue Netti without a weapon.
The Depeche reported the extent of the injury after the 145kg lock missed Toulouse’s open training session on Tuesday.
With fellow midfielder Clément Vergé already sidelined with an ACL injury, the French champions may be forced to employ a medical wild card to ease the pressure on their squad until Meafou returns in December.
The injury is also a hammer blow for France head coach Fabien Galtie, who rarely leaves the Australian-born striker out of his matchday squads.
France hosts Fiji, South Africa and Argentina in Nations Championship in November, and Meafou’s hulking frame would be preferred against a vaunted Springboks pack, who will take on Les Bleus in Paris on Friday 13 November.
That meeting with the world champions carries extra weight as it will be the last meeting between the two sides ahead of a potential World Cup semi-final in Australia in 2027
France have won just one of their last 10 meetings with Rassie Erasmus’ side and, crucially, have yet to exact revenge on the Boks for knocking them out of their home World Cup in 2023. Any hopes of achieving that have been hit by Meafou’s absence.
Toulouse, meanwhile, will be without Meafou for their own Investec Champions Cup opening round meeting with Gallagher PREM finalists Exeter Chiefs October 18. He will be in the running for a return to the second round meeting with Lions in Johannesburg on December 12.
