France team doctors have confirmed centre Mathieu Bastareaud suffered a suspected broken eye socket and needed four stitches in his cheek after being attacked following Les Bleus' defeat to New Zealand.

Bastareaud was returning to the team hotel in Wellington when he was set upon by a gang in the city centre, hours after the All Blacks had levelled the two-match series with a 14-10 win. The 20-year-old is now on his way back to France where further tests will be carried out.

"We offered to have him stay until the end of the tour with us, but he preferred to go back to France and go back to his family," said France team spokesman Lionel Rossigneux. "It's a sad story I'm afraid."

Rossigneux confirmed Bastareaud was not going to report the incident to the police as he didn't think he would be able to identify his attackers.

"By the time he went back to the hotel, we phoned the team doctor and the team doctor gave him four stitches, what would be the point in calling the police?" added Rossigneux. "In the end there wouldn't be any way to find the people involved.

"When we were talking with him and asking him if he could give a description, he said 'No, I didn't even know there were four or five. They just came quickly upon me and hit me... and I didn't have time to realise what happened'."

NZRU chief executive Steve Tew was shocked at the attack and offered his sympathies.

"(It's) not good for New Zealand. I'm sure the whole country would join me in sending our apologies to him," Tew told RNZ.

Bastareaud will now miss Saturday's Test against Australia in Sydney.