Another headache in store for Fabien Galthié? After Antoine Dupont and Maxime Lucu, already long-term absentees, and more recently Yoram Moefana and Gabien Villière, France lose another man before the November tour. Hurt during the game between Section Paloise and ASM Clermont, Théo Attissogbe has been diagnosed with a sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his knee – with no cruciate ligament rupture, according to the information released by the club.

The player, aged 20 and already credited with eight caps, will undergo surgery in the coming days. He is expected to be out for three to four months, which already rules him out of France’s November tour, in which the side will face South Africa, Fiji and Australia (on 8, 15 and 22 November).

The injury is a blow for Section Paloise, who lose one of their most decisive attacking weapons. But it is also bad news for the France staff: Théo Attissogbe had made himself a place in the back three, behind Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey.

On the summer tour of South America in 2024, Attissogbe made his international debut and scored a try against Argentina. The electric Section wing or full-back also scored three tries for France in the last Six Nations. He then followed that up with the summer tour of New Zealand, where he showed himself to good effect and was praised by the New Zealand press. He was tipped to be a luxury option in France’s attacking rotation this season.