FRANCE CAPTAIN CHARLES Ollivon will miss this summer’s tour of Australia after tearing a cruciate ligament in his left knee in the weekend’s Top 14 loss at Castres, his club Toulon said on Monday.
Ollivon, who took over as Les Bleus skipper after the 2019 Rugby World Cup, was helped off the field after a quarter of an hour in his side’s defeat on Saturday.
The injury can take up to nine months to heal which would also rule the 28-year-old flanker out of the November series.
“The Toulon back-rower will have surgery,” the club said.
“The whole Toulon team wish him the best recovery and hope to see him back on the field as quickly as possible.”
France will face the Wallabies three times in 10 days next month with the first Test in Sydney on 7 July.
Coach Fabien Galthie will be without players featuring in the Top 14 final on 25 June for the opening game of the tour due to quarantine rules in Australia.
France face Argentina on 6 November and Georgia a week later before playing New Zealand on 20 November, which will also be the opening match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in Paris.
Contenders to take over the captaincy include hooker Julien Marchand, who leads Toulouse, scrum-half Antoine Dupont and La Rochelle No. 8 Gregory Alldritt.
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