France suffered another big blow to their hopes of winning the Rugby World Cup with the withdrawal on Friday, September 1, of second-row forward Paul Willemse, a week ahead of the opening match against New Zealand.
The 30-year-old Pretoria-born lock has been replaced in the 33-man squad by Montpellier teammate Bastien Chalureau, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) announced.
According to several media reports, Willemse, who also missed the 2019 World Cup after getting injured in the build-up, hurt his thigh during the week.
Last season, he played just 13 games for Montpellier, mainly due to a recurring thigh injury.
Willemse, who played in three of France's warm-up matches, including Sunday's 41-17 win over Australia, remains on the list of 10 reserves who could be recalled to the squad during the competition.
Chalureau, 31, made his professional debut for Perpignan in the second division in 2015 but only graduated to the Top 14 during a brief stay at Toulouse in 2019 and then with Montpellier, where he has been since 2020.