France's Ntamack out of Rugby World Cup due to injury: Reports

PARIS: French flyhalf Romain Ntamack has been ruled out of next month's World Cup after suffering a knee injury, reported L'Equipe newspaper and other French media.

Ntamack is due to undergo a knee scan on Monday (Aug 14) after limping off the field in Saturday's warm-up test against Scotland.

He suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament in his left knee in France's 30-27 victory, L'Equipe reported. He was helped off the field after 55 minutes after opposite number Finn Russell charged into him.

France coach Fabien Galthie, who will announce his World Cup squad on Aug 21, had seemed unworried after the match, saying the Toulouse player had suffered "a small hyperextension of the knee".

"We preferred to replace him. He was seen by the doctor, the physiotherapists, and we will decide on Sunday if there needs to be additional examinations," he said.

The loss of the flamboyant pivot would be a major blow to "Les Bleus", with the hosts kicking off their World Cup campaign against New Zealand at the Stade de France on Sep 8.

Bordeaux fly-half Matthieu Jalibert is likely to step into Ntamack's position during the World Cup, with La Rochelle's Antoine Hastoy also in line to replace him.