Anthony Jelonch cursed.
A year after his serious rupture of the cruciate ligaments in his left knee, the third row of Stade Toulousain suffered the same serious injury, but on the other knee, on Sunday against the English from Bath in the Champions Cup.
“He felt his knee move.
We're going to wait for the exams.
We preferred not to take any risks.
I dare to hope that we do not go further than a somewhat innocuous feeling,”
Ugo Mola confided on Sunday after the meeting.
But, according to information from L'Équipe, the rupture of the cruciate ligaments would be confirmed and his season would already be over.
A terrible blow for the Gers flanker, who launched a race against time last year to come back so much to participate in the last World Cup in France.
Less than two weeks before the start of the 2024 Six Nations Tournament (against Ireland, February 2, at the Stade Vélodrome), Fabien Galthié and his staff will have to recompose their third line.
In the list of 34 players recently revealed to prepare for the Tournament, two players stand out to put on the starting tunic in place of Jelonch: his teammate with the Rouge et Noir, François Cros, author of remarkable performances in the last matches, or Paul Boudehent (La Rochelle), who was one of the revelations of the last World Cup in France.
Several candidates for the position
Among the other potential candidates, we can cite Esteban Abadie (Toulon), very prominent this season with the Var club, also present in the 34 but new to the international level.
In any case, the French staff will have to call up a new player to compensate for this package.
Several players could be called up, notably Sekou Macalou (Stade Français), present at the World Cup, or Yoann Tanga (Le Rochelle), regular in the France group but who had not made the cut for the World Cup.
Other third lines are also on Fabien Gathié's radar and could have their chance: Alexandre Roumat (Toulouse), followed for a long time, Judicaël Cancoriet (La Rochelle), who presents a fighter profile close to that of Jelonch, or Marko Gazzotti (UBB), recent U20 world champion and particularly decisive since the start of the season with the Gironde club coached by Yannick Bru.
During the day, Toulouse could communicate on the nature of the injury and the unavailability of Jelonch, after in-depth examinations, and the FFR should quickly announce his replacement in the group of 34 players who will prepare for the Tournament.