Lombard blow for Stade and France
October 9, 2001

Stade Francais will be without Thomas Lombard for the rest of their Pool 2 matches as they bid to reach a second successive Heineken Cup final.

And the talented French threequarter could also miss the quarter-finals and is a major doubt for the start of the Lloyds TSB 2002 Six Nations Championship.

Lombard was injured midway through the first half of Stade's 42-9 victory over Benetton Treviso, damaging the interior ligaments of his left knee - a similar injury to the same knee kept him out for a lengthy period in 1999/2000.

Now he is set to be out for at least four months, undergoing surgery on Friday and then facing lengthy rehabilitation in the South of France.

While Lombard suffered that unlucky injury, there is nothing remotely lucky about the Irish success story - played six, won six; the only nation with a 100 per cent record.

Munster have beaten Castres Olympique and NEC Harlequins; Leinster have accounted for Toulouse and Newcastle Falcons while Ulster have won against Benetton Treviso and London Wasps.

"The tournament is hugely popular and all our provinces have great crowds for their Heineken Cup matches," said Martin Murphy, the IRFU Operations Director.

"What we now need to do is translate that to the international stage because the standard we are seeing in the Heineken Cup is amazing.

"The matches provide great entertainment and from our Union point of view the Heineken Cup is superb for Irish rugby. There is always a great atmosphere at the matches, the Heineken Cup really is something special."

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