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Argentina have suffered a major set-back. A knee injury has ruled Santiago Grondona out of the World Cup. Grondona was injured playing for Los Pumas against Spain on Saturday. The match in Madrid was Argentina’s final match before the World Cup.
As he carried the ball, Santiago Grondona went down injured. The injury did not occur in contact. Seeing his teammate in agony, Matías Alemanno yelled for the referee to stop play. Grondona was carried off the field. He left in tears knowing that his World Cup dream was over.
The medic report from the incident confirmed the severity of the injury. Grondona suffered a ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament in his left knee. Such an injury requires six months recovery time and can take longer.
Grondona recently signed for a new club. He is moving from Pau in the Top 14 back to the English Premiership. His new home will be the Bristol Bears. He previously played for the Exeter Chiefs and also joined the Newcastle Falcons only to return to Argentina for surgery. It was for the same injury.
Michael Cheika is yet to announce a replacement for Grondona. The two leading candidates are currently both in France with their Top 14 clubs. They are flanker Joaquín Oviedo and second-rower Lucas Paulos. Both were in the Paris Camp earlier this year.
Oviedo did not play in the Rugby Championship; instead, he featured for the Argentina XV. He played very well for the next-of-XV. Lucas Paulos played in the Rugby Championship but Pedro Rubiolo was preferred for the World Cup. With Marcos Kremer also covering Cheika opted for an extra back-rower.
Also of note is that Cheika confirmed that Grondona was not being considered for the second-row. He did play second-row for Pau in 2023, scoring two tries. An announcement is forthcoming and it will also include an additional prop.
Veteran loose head prop Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro is also out of the World Cup. He was ruled out this past Tuesday after he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in his left leg. Mayco Vivas and Lucio Sordoni joined the team ahead of the test match against Spain and both featured as replacements. One will claim the vacant spot for the World Cup.
A third Puma suffered a serious injury this past week. Santiago Cordero was injured in training in Connacht, Ireland. He narrowly missed out on selection for the World Cup. His knee injury thus came at a cruel moment.
