France star warns rugby bosses: 'Getting injured the only way to rest'

Ntamack believes the problem is particularly bad in France, despite the French Rugby Federation (FFR) having their only agreement with the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) over their Test stars.

The natural size of the squads - given their monetary superiority over other leagues - also allows them to rotate their respective teams, but that is still not enough, according to Ntamack.

The Toulouse playmaker is also worried that instead of reducing the workload, rugby bosses are trying to increase it by looking to add more competitions and games to the calendar.

"Everyone complains that there are too many matches but many still want to add more or create competitions," Ntamack told Midi Olympique. "At some point, we perhaps also have to listen to the players.

"It would also be beneficial to work together more. We are not pieces of meat. We are sometimes tired and we still remain the main players in this game."

Ntamack made a staggering admission over his current situation, with the 24-year-old admitting that his long-term injury has arguably helped him in some ways.

The France star is on the sidelines after rupturing his ACL prior to the Rugby World Cup but, despite the desolation of missing the global tournament, there has been an upside.

Not that the playmaker feels it should be that way as he described the predicament facing the top modern-day players as "unfortunate".

"The only way to recover and regenerate well today is to get injured over a long period of time. It's unfortunate," he said.

"I honestly don't see, given the state I was in during the preparation this summer, how I could have continued with another season after the World Cup."

The flyhalf recently revealed that seeing France winning the World Cup would have been ˜one of the worst days of my life'.

Ntamack will also miss the Six Nations but the playmaker hopes to return before the end of the campaign and has set a target of around late March/early April.

"Rehabilitation takes quite a bit of time. There are plenty of things to do. You have to relearn the knee to stretch and bend properly. Then I continue the cardio and work on my upper body," he added.

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