CLERMONT AUVERGNE HAVE revealed that France centre Wesley Fofana fractured a rib during the Six Nations clash against Wales on Friday night.
The Top 14 club released a short statement on their official website to say that the 26-year-old suffered the injury late on in the defeat for Philippe Saint-André’s team, with medical examinations showing that Fofana has fractured the 11th rib on the right side of his body.
Clermont’s diagnosis is that the inside centre will be unavailable to play for a period of three to four weeks, which would rule him out of the remainder of the Six Nations. There is, of course, a chance that Fofana may heal more swiftly than that, but his absence would be a major blow for France.
Saint-André’s side have been reliant on moments of individual brilliance to create try-scoring chances so far in the tournament, with the world-class running talent of Fofana providing plentiful examples.
With Ireland traveling to Paris for a possible championship decider on the last weekend of the Six Nations, their chances of success would be improved if the Clermont centre was not fit to take his place on the pitch. The hope is, of course, that Fofana can recover to take part in a thrilling denouement to the tournament.
Saint-André is already anxiously awaiting news of a possible suspension for Morgan Parra after the scrum-half was red carded against Montpellier on Saturday. The Clermont playmaker is seen as the ideal man to replace the fatigued and out of form Jean-Marc Doussain in France’s number nine shirt for the final two fixtures.
