Knee injury likely to mark end of Joey Carbery's Bordeaux stint

The out half is out of contract at the end of the season.

Bordeaux Bègles' Joey Carbery during the warm up. Pic: INPHO/Bryan Keane

Fly-half Joey Carbery seems unlikely to play for Top 14 side Bordeaux again, after suffering a serious knee injury in training this week.

Carbery, who is out of contract at the end of the season and has reportedly been in talks over a possible return to Ireland, was expected to start for the Champions Cup holders in their match against Castres on Saturday, but was forced to withdraw from the squad on Wednesday.

Ulster, Leinster, and Connacht have all acknowledged holding talks with the Bordeaux fly-half, Rugbyrama reported.

"We lost Joey Carbery this week, a torn cruciate ligament in his knee," Bru said as he delivered the news to journalists after his side's bonus-point 57-32 win at Stade Chaban Delmas.

His injury and Matthieu Jalibert's Six Nations call-up leaves Bordeaux short of options at fly-half. Teenager Joseph Laharrague put in an impressive performance as he stepped in for Saturday afternoon's match.

"He stepped up magnificently," Bru said of the 19-year-old. "We need to be patient. He has a lot of talent. We saw his best version, but also the path he still has to follow. But today, he really seized his opportunity."

Salary cap constraints mean that the club is unlikely to look for short-term medical cover for Carbery, who has played 36 times for Bordeaux since moving to France in 2024.