France fly-half Romain Ntamack could miss the start of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations after revealing he will be out of action for “a few weeks” through surgery on a broken jaw.
Ntamack suffered a blow during Toulouse’s victory over Bordeaux-Bègles in France’s Top 14 this weekend and was substituted with around 12 minutes left to play.
And he took to Twitter to explain the result of a scan on the injury 24 hours later that means he faces a race to be fit for the beginning of the 2021 Championship.
He tweeted: “Following a blow to the jaw that occurred in the first half of the match between Stade Toulousain and Union Bordeaux-Begles, scans have shown a double fracture. I will have to have an operation and be sidelined for a few weeks…”
France head coach Fabien Galthié will assemble his squad on January 25, with Les Bleus’ Round 1 match against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico taking place on February 6 – less than six weeks from now.
Ntamack formed a devastating half-back partnership with Antoine Dupont during the 2020 Guinness Six Nations – with both men being nominated for Player of the Championship – as France narrowly missed out on the title on the final day.
The 21-year-old also missed the conclusion of the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup last month, due to quotas on the number of international matches France players can participate in, with Bordeaux No.10 Matthieu Jalibert admirably filling the fly-half jersey.
Jalibert would be the frontrunner to start against Italy if Ntamack fails to recover in time, although talented Toulon play-maker Louis Carbonel – a former star of the France Under-20s side – would also likely be in contention.
