France's hopes of winning the IRB Under 21 World Championship have been dealt a blow with the news that their captain Fabien Cibray has broken a bone in his leg.
Cibray was injured in the eighth minute of France's opening game against Ireland on 9 June. He will undergo an operation on Monday and is likely to be out of action for three months.
France manager Max Godemet has confirmed that they will look to replace Cibray with scrum half Christophe Clarac from Auch.
France have also lost the services of Arnaud Heguy, who was playing in his first IRB U21 World Championship, and who was also injured in the match against Ireland. Godemet told irbu21.com that he would be seeking to replace the hooker with Laurent Sampéré, from USAP of Perpignan.
Yohann Montes and Lionel Beauxis also picked up knocks against the Irish, but their injuries are not considered serious.
Other injuries post matchday one
Ireland's Ross Noonan is out of the tournament, injured in the game against France and will be replaced by Michael Essex.
New Zealand's Matt Holloway has pulled out of the tournament with a knee injury sustained in the match against Italy. Italy's Emmanuel Billot also suffered a knee injury in the same match. Michele Zaniarto will take his place in the Italian squad.