Racing-Métro 92 and Argentina star Juan Martin Hernández has undergone surgery for the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Hernandez underwent surgery in Buenos Aires, with surgeon Mario Larrain saying the Pumas' play-maker would begin rehabilitation immediately in his bid to get fit in time for the World Cup.

"Everything went well. It was a difficult operation and we hope that the body will do its work now," said Larrain. "It will take at least five months," he added.

"His rehabilitation will start 48 hours after surgery to maintain his muscle mass. There are opportunities [for Hernandez to make the World Cup] but we must wait and see what will evolve," said the surgeon.

The 32-times capped international sustained the injury during Racing's league match against Bourgoin on March 5th. Argentina's first World Cup match is on September 10th against England, with further pool games to follow against Romania, Scotland and Georgia.

Elsewhere, Stade Toulousain's young centre Rémi Lamerat has been ruled out for the rest of the season (and beyond) with a similar injury to Hernandez's.

Lamerat, 21, suffered the injury in the closing stages of Toulouse's 23-22 victory over Brive last weekend, but his summer transfer to Castres will not be affected.

Another player who will miss the remainder of the 2010/11 season is Perpignan lock Olivier Olibeau. The 34-year-old underwent shoulder surgery in Montpellier on Tuesday following an injury he picked up against SU Agen last month.

And it's a similar story for Montpellier's Geoffrey Dumayrou after the centre was ruled out for three to four months after dislocating a shoulder against La Rochelle.

Clermont Auvergne's Brent Russell also looks like he's out for the season after dislocating his left elbow against Castres.

Top 14 League Table 2010/11

Better news for Clermont was confirmation that Scotland and British Lions lock Nathan Hines has signed a one-year deal to join the defending French champions after the World Cup.

Hines, who previously played for Perpignan before joining Leinster, has the option of signing for another year.

The 35-year-old played for Perpignan between 2005-2009, but missed out on their 2009 championship-winning match (against Clermont) due to touring duties with the British Lions.

"It is a tough and passionate league which I was keen to return to," he said after confirming his switch. "When I played for Perpignan we won the shield but I didn't play in the final - I was in South Africa. That is frustrating, but Clermont have offered me another chance to win the shield.

"It is a great team made up of excellent players, an interesting and ambitious club. They have aims in all competitions, and notably the Heineken Cup which is very important to me," added Hines.

The 72-times capped international has been used in the back row as well as at lock.

Top 14 Transfers for 2011/12

Clermont have also announced that three academy trainees have signed their first full-time contracts, with number eight Loann Stud, scrum-half Ludovic Radosaljevic and prop Clément Ric all now committed to 'Les Jaunards'.

On the disciplinary Clermont Auvergne captain Aurélien Rougerie has picked up a 20-day ban for a dangerous tackle on Joe El-Abd in the ill-tempered Top 14 match against Toulon on March 4th. The French centre will now miss his club's forthcoming league games against SU Agen and Biarritz.

Rougerie's colleague Thibault Privat was banned for 30 days for punching Joe Van Niekerk (in the same match), while Toulon's Jocelino Suta also picked up the same penalty for "striking an opponent".

In addition both clubs were further fined €5,000 for a mass brawl.

Rougerie was omitted from the French team to play Wales on Saturday because of his likely suspension, but the player who replaced him - David Marty - has now also been summoned by the LNR.

Marty must go before the league's disciplinary committee after Friday's feisty encounter between Perpignan and Bayonne. Club colleague Grégory Le Corvec has also been called, along with Bayonne duo Jean-Joseph Marmouyet and Aretz Iguinitz. Both clubs will also be up before the beak (on March 23rd) after the match ended with a large-scale brawl following the final whistle.

Perpignan owner Paul Goze said he was outraged that Bayonne's Rémy Martin had not been summoned as well after television footage clearly showed him punching Le Corvec. Martin, it appears, has got away with it because he was shown a yellow card at the time of the flare up.

The LNR's over-worked disciplinary panel also announced that Agen coach Christopher Deylaud was banned for 10 days for challenging the referee's decisions during his club's Top 14 game against Montpellier, but Agen prop Gert Muller was cleared after being cited during the same game.

Montpellier's back row Alex Tulou was not so fortunate, however, as he was banned for 40 days for dangerous play.

Racing-Métro coach Pierre Berbizier is in hot water again after being called to appear on March 31st to answer a misconduct charge stemming from his team's match against Biarritz last weekend. Berbizier has already served a 60-day ban this season following remarks in the press about referee Christophe Berdos.

Toulon prop Carl Hayman has been called to the same disciplinary meeting following his club's victory over Bourgoin last weekend.

In ProD2, meanwhile, Lyon coach Rafael Saint-André - brother of Toulon coach Philippe - has been banned for 20 days for post-match comments following his team's recent match against Aurillac, while Aix-en-Provence scrum-half Pierre Rochette has also been suspended for 20 days for punching during his side's game against Dax.

Elsewhere, Mont-de-Marsan coaching duo Marc Dal Maso and Stéphane Prosper have both signed new two-year deals with the club, while Aurillac coach Pierre-Henry Broncan has agreed to take over at Colomiers next season.