Paris (AFP)

His early exit in Castres on Saturday, limping, on the last day of the Top 14, gave rise to fear of the worst: the third row of Toulon and captain of the Blues Charles Ollivon suffers from a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee and will be absent several months.

The 28-year-old "will have to undergo surgery," his club announced in a statement on Monday, without giving details on the duration of his unavailability.

It will necessarily be several months.

For the same injury, another Toulonnais, the young opening half Anthony Belleau, had to wait eight months before returning to the lawns of the Top 14.

A big blow for Ollivon, again stopped in his progress after having already experienced two fractures of the scapula and having come close to stopping rugby.

Very efficient during the last Six Nations Tournament, of which he had played all matches, the captain of the France team (23 caps) will miss the start of next season and will not participate in the tour in Australia.

The Blues must face the Wallabies on three occasions, on July 7, 13 and 17, with a reshaped group, the tricolor management wishing to leave several of its executives to rest, of which Ollivon was probably part.

"Charles' injury saddens me. What I am convinced, knowing his exceptional strength of character, is that we will see him very quickly at his best level," coach Fabien Galthié reacted on Twitter.

- Busy calendar -

The Toulonnais was injured in the 15th minute of a decisive match at Castres in the race to qualify for the finals of the Top 14, his knee releasing him on a breakthrough in the opposing defense.

The Var club, which led 10-0 at the time of its release, finally lost heavily (46-24) and finished the season in eighth place, far from its goals.

Ollivon played his sixth game on Saturday since May 1, including a series of three meetings (Toulouse, Montpellier, Clermont) in the space of a week after several postponements due to Covid-19.

Worried about "the health of the players", his teammate Baptiste Serin had then pushed a rant against this busy schedule: "I had my father on the phone earlier who said to me + Be careful, it's a soccer rhythm that you have, but a soccer rhythm with the contacts in more + ".

"We do not pay attention to us, to our health," regretted the international scrum half.

"Everyone was committed to ensuring that no one plays during the week. Result: we play during the week."

Despite a failed season, with the club's non-qualification for the final phase of the championship and the next European Cup, Toulon president Bernard Lemaître on Monday renewed his confidence in his general manager Patrice Collazo.

"I don't need to put a sword of Damocles on someone's head, it's not my way of managing," he said.

Collazo should still see his staff "improved and completed", to "take a little height in relation to events and players," said the president of the RCT.

© 2021 AFP