Overview
- Stade Rochelais said medical tests confirmed a cardiac event and that Atonio is stable under intensive care, with a long recovery ahead and no return to playing possible.
- The 35-year-old withdrew during the warm-up at Clermont after chest pain on Sunday and was admitted to the Centre Hospitalier de La Rochelle on Tuesday, January 27.
- Atonio had been named in France's initial 2026 Six Nations squad, creating an immediate selection gap at tighthead for both club and country.
- Messages of support poured in from the LNR, FFR, EPCR, Top 14 clubs and teammates, with England's RFU and Jamie George also posting well-wishes.
- A cornerstone of recent French successes, Atonio earned 68 caps and won two European titles with La Rochelle, while cardiologists noted exertion can reveal coronary problems and that stopping play likely prevented a worse outcome.