Four times Heineken Cup champions Toulouse may be sweating on the return to fitness of Argentinean lock Patricio Albacete, but there are now no worries for Toulon over the availability of England back row man Steffon Armitage next month.
Albacete is hoping his estimated 30 day recovery time from an eye operation last month will allow him to get back into action in time for their back-to-back battles with the Ospreys' Welsh lock pairing of Alun Wyn Jones and Ian Evans at Stade Ernest Wallon on Saturday, 8 December.
He picked up the injury in a Top 14 game against Racing Metro and was forced to pull out of the Pumas squad for their Autumn Tour, that would have included a match up with Jones and Evans at the Millennium Stadium tomorrow. Toulouse currently top Pool 2.
Meanwhile, Toulon's Armitage was this week cleared of any wrong doing by the French Rugby Federation after he tested positive for morphine five months ago in a post-match drugs test. The 26-year-old failed a control for the banned substance after the Top 14 Final which Toulon lost 18-12 against Toulouse on 9 June.
The club always maintained the test showed an "abnormal" result as a side-effect of pain-killers and anti-inflammatory tablets which Toulon's medical staff had prescribed Armitage for back pain. Toulon argued that the products were approved by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD).
Armitage, who has five caps to his name for England, has been free to play since the beginning of the season, but was not included in the England squad for the upcoming series of November Tests. He will now be able to concentrate his efforts on helping his team maintain their unbeaten run in Pool 6 when they tackle Sale Sharks in Round 3.
