Injuries, duration, returns or even suspensions: we take stock of the numbers of Pro D2 clubs before the 16th day, which marks the start of the return phase.
Biarritz – Soyaux-Angoulême
Biarritz : victim of a ruptured Achilles tendon against Bayonne, second row Johnny Dyer is still in care. Clément Martinez (adductor), Filimo Taofifenua (knee) and Jonathan Joseph (back) are still unavailable. Nafi Ma’afu, Baptiste Fariscot, Yann David, Yoni Tuataane and Jessy Jegerlehner have returned to training smoothly. Tyler Morgan, Giorgi Dzmanashvili and Bastien Guillemin are training normally. The latter will apply shortly. Kylian Jaminet and Edgar Retière, spared at the start of the week, should be able to hold their place.
Soyaux-Angoulême : absent for almost a year, Corentin Glénat is making his comeback and will start at the opening. at the infirmary in December, Matthys Gratien and Peter Lydon returned to training. Léo Labarthe and Clément Sentubéry resumed the race. Eoghan Barrett should return by the next block. We will have to wait much longer for Brosset and Mau, seriously injured in the hamstrings and one knee respectively. The 21-year-old Italian center, François Mey, also arrived on loan from Clermont to compensate for the absence of the Fijian center.
Béziers – Nice
Béziers : the recovery for the Biterrois will have given some problems to the squad depending on the degree of form. The second row Pierre Gayraud is seriously injured in one knee and his absence is estimated at between two and three months minimum. Another unfortunate case, that of Samuel Marques. Hit in a shoulder, the scrum-half postpones an operation which will prove inevitable but can still play without problem. Victor Dreuille and Clément Doumenc are still recovering while Youssef Amrouni is now fit.
Nice : only five players are attending the Riviera infirmary at the start of the year. Prop Fabio Gonzalez is still nursing his foot and will be out indefinitely. The third row Arthur Vignolles and the three-quarter center Alban Conduché are still suffering from a shoulder. Center-fly Romain Riguet (cruciate ligament in one knee) has finished his season and second row Adrien Vigne should return at the end of the month.
Oyonnax – Aurillac
Oyonnax : if the truce made it possible to make a little space in the infirmary, with the returns of hooker Teddy Durand and center Lucas Mensa, its benches are not completely empty. There are still a few long-term injured players like pillars Oli Kebble, Antoine Abraham and Christopher Vaotoa or fly-half Justin Bouraux. The flu also thinned the ranks, affecting several players including prop Ali Oz and third row Antoine Miquel. Recently arrived in Oyonnax, scrum half Cameron Wright and center Afusipa Taumoepeau will wait a little before their debut.
Aurillac : the hard blow of the week concerns Ugo Seunes, who blocked his back and will therefore not face Oyonnax this Friday. Luka Nioradze, injured against Dax, was spared for this meeting in Ain. Martial Rolland is still injured in his shoulder while Axel Bévia and Hugo Huurman are still unavailable. Finally, Elijah Niko cannot return to competition due to his concussion suffered against Dax. AJ Coertzen is also out, injured in the hand.
Agen – Provence rugby
Agen : the essential hooker Santiago Socino is out, hit in the sternum. His return is hoped for against Biarritz. William Demotte is also out while John Madigan should return to the team next week. Arnaud Duputs, still injured in the wrist, should return in March or April while Jean-Marcellin Buttin sees the end of the tunnel. Otherwise, Sébastien Calvet can count on an almost complete squad. At three-quarters, the entire workforce is on deck.
-Provence rugby : the bad news comes from second row Jérôme Dufour who fractured a toe. The latter should be unavailable for two to three months. On the other hand, the second row Théo Hannoyer as well as the third rows Ned Hanigan and Guillaume Piazzoli are in the process of returning to the group during the month of January. But, we are also and above all awaiting the return of Welsh international George North from this trip to Agen. He will be in the group and will return during the match.
Nevers – Mont-de-Marsan
Nevers : the two weeks of vacation allowed the staff to recover players who had been absent for a long time. This is the case of flanker Hugues Bastide, injured in early November, while awaiting the imminent return of fly-half Yohan le Bourhis, and of centers Atunaisa Manu, Paula Walisoliso and Léonard Paris. On the front line, where we will still have to wait to see Jordan Seneca and Ilia Kaikatsishvili again, Cleopas Kundiona joins the infirmary. The young pillar Lasha Pkakhadze will experience his first start, for his tenth match sheet of the season.
Mont-de-Marsan: Thomas Bultel (foot), Jean-Luc Innocente (cervicals), Nicolas Garrault (knee), Raphaël Robic (wrist) and Semi Lagivala (ankle) are not fit. Simao Bento and Mattéo Lalanne make their reappearance, as does Aurélien Lafforgue who takes over the captaincy. Three players make their first match sheet on the bench: the third row Raphaël Darquier injured during the pre-season, the young South African pillar of the training center Ali Osman and finally Mosese Dawai, arrived last Monday as a medical joker from Eroni Sau .
Valence-Romans – Colomiers
Valence-Romans: while we could fear a serious injury for the right pillar Vincent Vial, released in the 2nd minute of play in Aix-en-Provence before the break, he ultimately only suffered a big bruise on one knee. He will still be absent for the first match of 2025. Absent for several weeks due to serious ankle discomfort, Irish second row Darren O’Shea is still unavailable. As for three-quarter Charles Bouldoire, he is not expected to return to the field before March, following his wrist injury which occurred several months ago and the resulting rehabilitation.
Colomiers: it begins to empty.Tartas (hamstrings), Pacheco (cervicals), Pirlet (back), Timu (ankle), Maurel (Achilles tendon) and Delourmel (knee) have resumed training but will be too tight to face Valence-Romans. Jack Whetton and Brett Herron are more advanced. Sakiusa Baseisei is awaiting further examinations and Janse Roux is still in trouble with his knee. Ugo Séguéla (ruptured cruciate ligament in knee) is finished with his season and Valentin Saurs (meniscus) is not yet recovered.
Dax – Brive
Dax :the Christmas break allowed us to treat a few ailments. Second row Alexandre Manukula returns to the group. On the other hand, Lucas Guillaume (knee) and Mattieu Bidau (shoulder) are still unavailable. The Louis Mary pillar is seized. The two forwards Sam Wasley and Ratu Nacika are suffering from their knees. Fly-half Hugo Cerisier is tending to his calf and center Jale Vatubua is having trouble with his ankle. The two long-injured wingers, Alex Pilati (adductors) and Jope Naseara (knee) will be in the stands for this clash against CA Brive.
Brive:Scottish international center Sam Johnson, operated on to rupture his cruciate ligaments, has finished his season. He joined the long-term injured Adrien Pélissié (knee), Ross Moriarty (ankle) and Stuart Olding (ankle) in the infirmary. Still in the center, Georges Shvelidze, injured against Béziers, is treating his ribs. Guillaume Galletier, for his part, had to stop training on Monday after a muscular alert. In front, Sasha Gué makes his return.
