Rugby-France winger Huget out of World Cup with knee injury

Reuters

20 September 2015 at 6:16 am

Rugby Union - France v Italy - IRB Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool D - Twickenham Stadium, London, England - 19/9/15 France's Yoann Huget receives treatment after sustaining an injury Action Images via Reuters / Andrew Couldridge Livepic

PARIS (Reuters) - France suffered a major setback to their Rugby World Cup campaign when winger Yoann Huget was ruled out with a knee injury on Sunday.

Huget sustained the injury to his right knee ligaments in his team's Pool D opener, a 32-10 win over Italy on Saturday at Twickenham,

"It is sad to lose such a player. We don't know yet whether his ligament is totally or partially ruptured, but his World Cup is over," coach Philippe Saint-Andre said on Sunday.

Huget is being replaced by powerful Castres Olympique wing Remy Grosso.

The 28-year-old Huget, who has 41 caps, has been a key member of the French squad since Saint-Andre took over from Marc Lievremont after the 2011 World Cup.

Four years ago, Huget withdrew from the World Cup squad after failing to provide his whereabouts to anti-doping authorities on three occasions.

France next face Romania and Canada at the World Cup, before concluding their group campaign against Ireland.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ed Osmond/Mitch Phillips)