The United Rugby Championship (URC) season is over for Gonzalo Bertranou. The Puma has undergone surgery that has ended has season for the Dragons. His focus is now on returning to the field wearing the colors of Los Pumas.
Bertranou went down with an ankle injury playing for the Dragons against the Bulls in the URC earlier this month. The knock followed a blow suffered playing for Argentina against Scotland in November. His surgery was to repair damage done to the ligament of the instep in his left ankle.
The scrum-half from Mendoza joins two other Pumas in his position to be sidelined. Fellow URC player Gonzalo García is out for the season knee following surgery while Lautaro Bazán Vélez is out with a wrist injury.
Attention will now be firmly on Tomás Cubelli. The veteran is back with Biarritz for the second half of the Pro D2 season. He and Bertranou were the regular two players used at scrum-half by Argentina in 2022. Eliseo Morales made his test debut in November against Wales. He and former Puma Martín Landajo will play for different teams in Super Rugby Americas 2023.
Argentina’s next assignment is the 2023 Rugby Championship. With it being a Rugby World Cup year, the tournament is reduced by 50%. Los Pumas open in Mendoza against New Zealand on July 08. The World Cup wil begin for Argentina on September 09 against England in Marseille.