Captain and lock Fabien Pelous remains a serious doubt, having failed to shrug off an ankle injury that has sidelined him since the middle of December.

'I am back running again, but there is still pain,' he said.

When asked whether he would be fit for the start of the Six Nations, he replied: 'I do not know.'

He was joined on the treatment table this weekend by Toulouse colleague Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, who suffered a stomach injury in his side's win over Ulster in the Heineken Cup on Sunday.

There are now question marks over the availability of the scrum-half for the Italy match, although he was unlikely to be chosen ahead of Dimitri Yachvili in the starting XV anyway.

Elsewhere, Biarritz hooker Benoit August injured his ribs during Sunday's European Cup victory at Northampton and has been ruled out for two weeks.

The uncapped front-row forward is definitely out of the Italy game but he has been retained in France's 40-man squad and should be fit for the away clash with Ireland on February 11.

Centre Romain Cabannes has already withdrawn from the party to face Italy because of a sinus problem while number eight Elvis Vermeulen is struggling with a bicep injury.

Les Bleus coach Bernard Laporte will be keeping his fingers crossed he does not pick up any more injuries in this weekend's round of Top 14 fixtures - the last before the Six Nations begins.

League giants Stade Francais and Toulouse are expected to name their star players when they meet at the Stade de France on Saturday night.