France's injury concerns ahead of their November 13 clash with the Springboks in Paris have deepened, with Toulouse lock Thibaud Flament ruled out for several weeks with a shoulder injury.
Flament played the full 80 minutes of Toulouse's 45-34 Top 14 win over Bayonne on Sunday but has since been sidelined, with L'Equipe reporting the issue will keep him out of France's entire November window — Tests against Fiji, South Africa and Argentina included.
The timing strips Fabien Galthié of what was expected to be his first-choice second-row pairing. Emmanuel Meafou is already out after suffering a knee injury last month, meaning France face the Springboks' pack without either of the locks Galthié had earmarked to anchor his set piece.
Flament's loss also hits Toulouse hard ahead of their Investec Champions Cup opener against Exeter Chiefs on Sunday, with the French champions now without Flament, Meafou and Clément Vergé in the engine room.
France's injury list extends beyond the second row. Bordeaux-Bègles flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert is racing to recover from a thigh injury in time for the start of the Nations Championship.