Here is the updated wildcard and injury replacement info for the WSL Mens Quik Pro France 2016 (4th – 15th October)

INJURIES – NONE

Bede, Owen and Mick will again be OUT, with Stu Kennedy, Seabass Zietz and Dusty Payne respectively.

Although there are no official (new) changes to the draw in regards to injuries, it could be worth taking note of the following:

John John Florence – JJF went into Trestles with a question mark over his head, carrying an injury which occurred whilst surfing the finals at Tahiti against the GOAT, Kelly Slater. Although JJF’s surfing did not seem to hampered in any way by the injury (let’s face it, he was ripping) he still suffered an early round exit at the hands of Brett Simpson, trials winner and event wildcard. Luckily it didn’t cost him the yellow jersey, due to the fortunate (for him) elimination of Gabriel Medina in the same round. JJF is no slouch in Europe (2014 winner) and while his projections are impressive it’s worth a mention. There has been no word from the Florence camp in regards to this, so perhaps we should not let it worry us either…

Jadson Andre – Jaddy copped a 9th in California, which is pretty dang good. His performance in Portugal for the WQS 10,000 Billbong Pro Cascais has also been impressive, only going down yesterday in the 5th round to Frenchman Joan Duru (currently 3rd on the WQS). You could say he is in form, yet these results are in spite of 2 injuries he is currently carrying. Jadson spoke with the WSL about how he is surfing through the pain, and looking forward to a season break after Hawaii so he can recover fully. Jadson is also a solid performer in Europe (runner-up 2014 to JJF, 9th in 2015), and we actually recommend him as a pick in our comp analysis, but his injuries should also be noted.

Conner Coffin – No injuries as such, although we’ve picked up on a couple of grumpy tweets from Conner suggesting American Airlines may have misplaced his boards. Let’s hope they find their way to Hossegor in time for the stylish Californian to strut his stuff.

WILDCARDS

Leonardo Fioravanti – IN

Quiksilver team rider and current WQS leader by a healthy margin, Leo is a great choice for event wildcard. He has already proved his worth on the main stage with a 5th at Margret River and 13th in Rio. That puts him at 35th on the ‘CT rankings, ahead of top 32 surfer Ryan Callinan (who has surfed in all 8 events so far, compared to Leo’s 2). This means he has also been seeded against Wilko in the first round, which is a better shot for him than say, Medina. Expect Leo’s smooth, solid surfing to get him through a few rounds.

Joan Duru – IN

Currently sitting pretty at 3rd on the WQS rankings, Duru is looking good for a starting spot on the 2017 WCT. As wildcard for the Quik Pro he’ll be stoked to test out his skills against the elite, and doing so on his home beach is icing on the cake. He’s got arguably a tougher draw than Leo, with a first round match against JJF, but the local wildcards have been causing havoc this year (a la Simpo v JJF at trestles) and we’re sure Joan will want to continue the tradition.