Selevasio Tolofua ruled out for up to four months

Clermont will start the Top 14 season without Selevasio Tolofua, whose injury is expected to keep him out for three to four months. The 29-year-old back-row forward suffered a fractured fibula and a severe ankle sprain, with surgery scheduled in Clermont on Tuesday. His return could be delayed until 2027 if his recovery extends beyond December.

Tolofua was injured during Saturday’s pre-season meeting with Stade Français, which Clermont lost 31-29. He will miss the club’s September 5 opener at Lyon and is also set to be unavailable for the start of the Champions Cup, including the October fixture against Leinster. A three-month absence would cost him 11 matches, with the possibility of five more if he remains sidelined in December.

The injury removes an established option from the squad after Tolofua made 22 appearances last season, starting 16 of them. He has two France caps, earned in 2020 and 2022, and is contracted to Clermont until June 2028.

Clermont finished seventh in the previous Top 14 campaign, one point short of the play-off places. The club is already without tighthead prop Cristian Ojovan, who broke a foot in the opening training session and hopes to return in October. Clermont does not plan to sign a medical joker, leaving Giorgi Dzmanashvili and Régis Montagne as the other tighthead options.