France centre Arthur Vincent faces an extended period on the sidelines after it was confirmed that he had suffered a serious knee injury over the weekend.
The 22-year-old from Montpellier suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament went off in the first half of Saturday’s win over La Rochelle after going down with a non-contact injury.
And the fears were confirmed on Monday when he underwent an MRI to examine the seriousness of the injury.
Vincent now faces six to eight months out as he rehabs from the injury, meaning that he will miss the Autumn Nations Series, where France will take on Argentina, Georgia and New Zealand, as well as the 2022 Guinness Six Nations.
France coach Fabien Galthié tweeted words of support for Vincent, who made his debut for Les Bleus in the 2020 Championship.
Galthié said: “Dear Arthur, we are in pain following the announcement of your serious injury. With the whole of the staff, we wish you lots of courage to get through this period on the sidelines. As we wait to see you back on the pitch soon, we look forward to having you back with us.”
Vincent was part of the France team that won back-to-back World Rugby Under-20s titles, captaining Les Bleuets to the second of those in 2019.
He made his France debut the following year, helping France to second in the Championship table.
Vincent has been a part of the France squad ever since, and started all three matches on the summer tour of Australia in which Les Bleus narrowly lost 2-1.