Penaud's France comeback lasts 40 minutes as calf injury rules him out of July Tests

Damian Penaud’s return to the France squad has been cut short after the Bordeaux-Bèglès wing suffered a calf injury during the Nations Championship defeat to New Zealand in Christchurch, ruling him out of the upcoming Tests against Australia in Brisbane on Saturday and Japan in Tokyo on 18 July.

The 29-year-old had made an instant impression on his comeback, scoring his 41st Test try — a French record — within 70 seconds of kick-off. But he lasted only until half-time before leaving the field, replaced by fly-half Antoine Hastoy as head coach Fabien Galthié reshuffled his back-line.

“He felt a tightness in his calf, he didn’t want to risk a tear,” Galthié told reporters after the 34-32 defeat, in which the All Blacks outscored France five tries to four under new head coach Dave Rennie.

The French Rugby Federation confirmed Penaud’s withdrawal from the squad on Monday but has yet to name a replacement. Specialist sports newspaper Midi Olympique reported that starting fly-half Matthieu Jalibert could shift to full-back, with Toulouse’s Romain Ntamack coming in at ten.

Full-back Max Spring is also a major doubt for the Wallabies fixture, leaving Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang and Théo Forner — both Olympic sevens champions — along with Toulon’s Mathis Ferté as the remaining back-three options.

Penaud’s latest setback continues a difficult run of availability issues. A combination of illness, injury, and non-selection meant he had already missed 15 of France’s last 22 Tests before this tour, having also been left out of the Six Nations-winning squad earlier this year.