TOULOUSE (FRANCE) - Toulouse and France captain Thierry Dusautoir will miss the opening three games of the Top 14 with a thigh injury, according to club coach Guy Noves.
French captain Thierry Dusautoir attends a press conference at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, on June 13, 2014
There was further bad news for the four-time European champions with South African Schalk Ferreira ruled out for at least five months after rupturing a bicep tendon in Toulouse's friendly victory over Biarritz on Saturday.
Dusautoir, Noves told AFP, sustained a 1 to 2cm tear in his thigh that will need "at least three weeks to heal properly", meaning he will miss Saturday's game at home against Oyonnax and also matches against Castres and La Rochelle.
Ferreira's injury was the third of its kind to have hit Toulouse in recent months, Dusautoir and New Zealand playmaker Luke McAlister having been sidelined last season.
Noves said he would seek a medical replacement for Ferreira, with just Georgian Vasil Kakovin and 21-year-old Cyril Baille as back-up.