France hooker Julien Marchand faces race to make knockout stages

France hooker Julien Marchand is unlikely to play any part in the remainder of France's World Cup pool stages after picking up a hamstring injury against the All Blacks on Friday.

The Toulouse No2 began the match with heavy strapping on his left thigh, and could not even make it to half-time at the Stade de France in the World Cup opener before going off with what has been confirmed by coach Laurent Labit as a hamstring injury. Midi Olympique have now reported that the 28-year-old faces four to five weeks out ahead of further tests next week, which would likely rule him out of matches against Uruguay, Namibia and Italy.

Now that France have overcome the biggest hurdle in their group, beating the All Blacks 27-13, Labit said today that Marchand was not even in the coaching team's plans to feature against Uruguay on Thursday. He said: (Translated on Google) "We are not going to act in haste. In any case, “Juju” (Marchand) was not scheduled for the match against Uruguay. His injury doesn't change anything in our plans at the moment."

Marchand joins a growing injury list for Les Bleus, as his fellow Toulouse teammates Romain Ntamack and Cyril Baille are also absent. While Ntamack is out for the entirety of the tournament, Baille, like Marchand, could make a comeback in the latter stages of the tournament, which could be a major boost for Fabien Galthie and his side.