FRENCH WINGER YOANN HUGET has been ruled out of the remainder of the Rugby World Cup after sustaining a cruciate ligament injury in his side’s 32-10 victory over Italy at Twickenham on Saturday.
The 28-year-old limped off in the second half and immediately buried his head in his hands once he reached the sideline, clearly appreciating the extent of the injury and the likelihood of his tournament being over.
Afterwards, France coach Philippe Saint-Andre hinted that the Toulouse man was almost certain to be a long-term casualty.
“It looks like Huget has done his cruciate ligaments so this is not the best news,” he said.
“He’s a very important player and a lot of players from Toulouse are in this team and afterwards for four or five minutes we were quite shaky.
Huget wasn’t involved the 2011 World Cup after receiving a three-month suspension on the eve of the tournament for missing three drug tests.
His injury represents a huge positive for Ireland.
With both drawn in Pool D, the teams meet at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Sunday, October 11th in a battle for top spot.
The runner-up in the group will likely face New Zealand in a quarter-final clash.
