 Castaignede suffered the injury in training |
France centre Thomas Castaignede has been ruled out of next week's Test against New Zealand with a thigh injury. The Saracens star damaged his quadriceps muscle in training on Thursday and remained on the bench as his team lost 33-32 to Argentina the following night.
Castaignede flew home on Saturday after a scan confirmed he would not be able to play in Christchurch.
He will be replaced by Montferrand stand-off Gerald Merceron.
Castaignede becomes the second player in a matter of hours to return home early, fly-half Yann Delaigue having torn a muscle in his right arm during the first half against the Pumas.
The loss of both players will be a further blow for coach Bernard Laporte, after Friday's injury-time defeat saw his French team lose a series to Argentina for the first time ever.
MMIX
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