Wesley Fofana has been ruled out of the Six Nations after rupturing his achilles tendon in theSaturday’s 48-26 home win for Clermont over Exeter. Fofana, who has 44 caps and 14 tries for France, sustained the injury late in the first half. Clermont said that the 29-year-old will undergo an operation on his left leg and confirmed he is out of the tournament.

France, who finished second-to-last in the 2016 Six Nations, open with a difficult match away to Grand Slam winners England on 4 February. Losing Fofana will be an especially hard blow considering how well his partnership was developing with centre Rémi Lamerat, his Clermont team-mate. They will also be without experienced fly-half François Trinh-Duc, who is recovering from a broken arm but is hoping to play a part later in the campaign.

The French Rugby Federation has yet to name Fofana’s replacement, but one option for coach Guy Novès would be Mathieu Bastareaud, who has 39 caps but has not played since France were crushed 62-13 by New Zealand in the 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals. Bastareaud was overlooked when Novès named his Six Nations squad last week.