Perpignan stunned as Carter suffers Achilles injury

Dan Carter's stint in France with Perpignan came to a premature end yesterday after he was ruled out for about six months with a ruptured Achilles tendon.

The New Zealand fly-half, who arrived in the south of France at the start of December on a seven-month contract, sustained the injury in the final seconds of yesterday's 13-13 draw with Stade Français in Paris. He spent this morning at the Camp des Loges, the training base of the capital's football club Paris St Germain, and tests by PSG doctor Eric Rolland revealed the extent of the injury.

"It is a partial rupture of the Achilles tendon, which means a period of around six months out," Perpignan spokesman Benoit Brazes told L'Equipe. "Carter at USAP, it's over."

It is an enormous blow to Perpignan, who are believed to have paid €700,000 (£620,000) for the All Black's services. Carter will leave France having only played five times for Perpignan, including once in the Heineken Cup, the competition he said enticed him to Europe. Perpignan were unbeaten when the 26-year-old played.

The Perpignan coach, Jacques Brunel, was stunned by the news. "We are staggered because we are losing our playmaker," Brunel told www.rmc.fr. "The way it happened leaves us speechless, because it was the last action of the game."