France are sweating on the fitness of star flyhalf Romain Ntamack after he was forced from the field against Scotland in the 30-27 win in the warm-up clash in Saint-Etienne.
Ntamack attempted to tackle opposite number Finn Russell in an upright twisting motion, but seemed to pull out of the tackle mid air with his feet off the ground.
The star No 10 was assisted by medical staff on the pitch and needed to be helped from the field as he limped off with a suspected knee injury.
Head coach Fabian Galthie said he suffered “a small hyperextension of the knee” and will go for scans for a full diagnosis.
“We preferred to replace him,” said Galthie of the decision to substitute him in the 55th minute.
“He was seen by the doctor, the physiotherapists and we will decide on Sunday if there needs to be additional examinations.”
Ntamack has been a key player for France with his club combination at Toulouse with Antoine Dupont becoming the spine of the national side.
The pair have been integral to capturing a Grand Slam in 2022 and leading the side to a 14 Test winning streak.
Losing Ntamack on the eve of the World Cup would be a significant blow for the host nation, who rolled out a near-full strength side for their second warm-up clash with Scotland.
The visitors also came away with injury concerns, winger Duhan Van der Merwe left the pitch aided by a team doctor with quarter of the game left after shortly scoring a key try in Scotland’s comeback.
France have to navigate two more warm-up fixtures against Fiji and Australia before the opening game of the Rugby World Cup against the All Blacks on September 8.
