Heineken Cup
Traille blow for Biarritz
Scrum.com
May 18, 2010
Biarritz's Damien Traille is tackled by Stade Francais' James Haskell, Stade Francais v Biarritz, Top 14, Stade de France, Paris, France, January 9, 2010
Biarritz centre Damien Traille has been ruled out of Saturday's Heineken Cup final against Toulouse © Getty Images
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Players/Officials: Imanol Harinordoquy | Damien Traille
Tournaments/Tours: Heineken Cup
Teams: Biarritz | Toulouse
Grounds: Stade de France

As expected, Biarritz centre Damien Traille has been forced to admit defeat in his desperate battle to be fit for Saturday's Heineken Cup final showdown with Toulouse at the Stade de France.

The French international suffered a fractured forearm in the Basque side's Top 14 defeat to Clermont Auvergne on April 24 and was initially ruled out of action for at least four weeks, giving him an outside chance of being fit for Europe's showpiece game.

However, Biarritz manager Laurent Rodriguez revealed at a press conference on Tuesday that the game had come just too soon for Traille.

"Damien had to withdraw because playing would be too risky and could sideline him for a long time," he is quoted as saying by reuters.

On the plus side for Biarritz, Rodriguez revealed that inspirational No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy is in line to start in Paris after recovering from his recent rib injury.

"Imanol is not in pain any more. He should resume full training tomorrow (Wednesday) and we are confident he will be able to lead our team," he said.

Biarritz forward Magnus Lund is delighted that Harinordoquy is poised to return and is hoping that the Les Bleus ace can produce a performance akin to the one which helped the Basques see off Munster in the last four.

"Imanol had a big day in the semi-final - but he has those days quite often - and it is something we expect of him," the former Sale Sharks said. "He battled through and is having a tremendous year and that is huge for us."

© Scrum.com

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