Fickou out of France’s Six Nations opening Rounds

Toulouse and France have suffered a blow for their Heineken Cup and Six Nations title hopers as up-and-coming centre Gael Fickou was ruled out for a month with an ankle injury.

The 18-year-old sustained the injury after coming on as a replacement in Toulouse’s 35-14 victory over Treviso in Heineken Cup action on Sunday, landing badly after leaping for an up-and-under in the 74th minute.

“Verdict: 4 weeks out, twisted ankle (external ligament), that’s part of the game!” Fickou said on his twitter account.

It means the centre will miss out on a pre-Six Nations training camp with the French squad and also Les Bleus’ first two matches against Italy on February 3 and Wales six days later.

For his club Toulouse, Fickou will miss out on Sunday’s do-or-die Heineken Cup final round clash at Leicester, the winner of which will progress to the knock-out phase of the continent’s top club tournament.