Utility back Santiago Carreras limped off in the 13th minute of Bath’s 23-5 defeat to Gloucester

Argentina have been dealt significant injury blows ahead of the Nations Championship, with two players ruled out and another in doubt for their game against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium next Friday week.

Felipe Contepomi has lost his brilliant utility back Santiago Carreras and prop Thomas Gallo, while Toulouse centre Santiago Chocobares is in doubt after suffering a head knock at the weekend.

Carreras, who has 70 Test caps, limped off in the 13th minute of Bath’s 23-5 defeat to his former club Gloucester on Friday and watched the remainder of the match on crutches.

The Argentina international is due to undergo a scan to determine the extent of his lower-limb injury, which appears serious.

His place in the squad has been taken by Mateo Soler, who made his Test debut off the bench against the Wallabies last month.

Gallo, capped 39 times, has also been withdrawn from the squad because of a wrist injury sustained playing for Lyon away to Bayonne on Saturday, with Dragons prop Rodrigo Martinez, who has four Test caps, called up as cover.

Chocobares, capped 31 times, missed Toulouse’s win over Perpignan last Saturday after suffering a head injury in their Champions Cup win over Exeter a week previously. Matías Moroni has been placed on standby should Chocobares be ruled out, potentially giving the experienced centre a chance to reach 100 Test caps.

Moroni is currently on 99 caps but was initially left out of Argentina’s squad for the November internationals. The 35-year-old has not played for the Pumas since suffering a facial injury against Australia in August.

Argentina have arrived in London ahead of a demanding run of fixtures against Ireland on November 6th, Italy on November 14th and France on November 21st, followed by the Nations Championship finals weekend.