The 31-year-old, who has 101 caps with Les Bleus, suffered ligament damage during Toulouse's 18-12 European Cup victory over Stade Francais on May 24.

Pelous underwent an operation on his knee on June 3, and has spent the last two weeks following a specially-designed physiotherapy programme.

His trainer Zeba Traore is optimistic he will be back to top form very soon.

''He is gradually getting back to full fitness thanks to the intense training sessions, said Traore on the club's website.

''The medical staff will of course monitor his knee but Fabien's ability to recover fast is impressive, and he is already doing extremely well.

''He should be able to resume normal training in about two weeks, and within a month or a month and a half he will be back playing.''

Pelous, who missed France's summer tour in the Southern Hemisphere in June, could make his comeback for Toulouse on September 16 against Toulon.