Thibaud Flament has confirmed he will not feature for France in their Six Nations showdown against Ireland in a fortnight's time because it clashes with his wife's fertility treatment.
Head coach Fabien Galthie had previously said the Toulouse lock would miss the fixture at Stade de France on Thursday 5 February due to "personal reasons".
Flament told French publication L'Equipe his withdrawal is down to his wife - who has endometriosis - being scheduled to have ART (assisted reproductive technology) treatment in the same week.
"You can't control the date," said the 28-year-old.
"The timing is based on the menstrual cycle of women, with a whole protocol around it.
"We learned at the beginning of January that ART (assisted reproductive technology) falls in the same week as Ireland.
"Even if I saw this possibility coming, it's not possible to do both, so I won't play."
Galthie has made sweeping changes to his plans for this year's Six Nations, omitting Damian Penaud, Gregory Alldritt and Gael Fickou from of his 42-man squad.
Antoine Dupont returns from injury to provide a boost for France after the scrum-half missed the end of last year’s autumn programme through injury.
Dupont has been sidelined since early March after rupturing the cruciate ligaments in his right knee during France’s 42-27 win over Ireland in the 2025 Six Nations, an injury that required surgery and kept him out for more than eight months.
Out-half Roman Ntamack was also left out of the squad after picking up an unspecified injury with Toulouse this month.
