France captain Antoine Dupont moved a significant step closer to playing in this weekend’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final after being cleared on Monday to resume full training by the surgeon who operated on his fractured cheekbone.
The 26-year-old scrum-half suffered the injury in a brutal tackle against Namibia and had surgery on September 22 before rejoining the squad for light training a week later.
“Following his planned visit to the surgeon who had operated on him, Antoine Dupont received authorisation to resume rugby training from today,” the French rugby federation announced.
Since rejoining the squad, Dupont moved quickly from bike and pool work to running drills, and Monday’s green light means the combative scrum-half will be back in the thick of full contact.
That gives the Toulouse half-back a week of training at just the right time.
France topped Pool A and will take on World Cup champions South Africa at the Stade de France on Sunday.
Maxime Lucu deputised at number nine for Dupont in their final pool game against Italy, with Baptiste Couilloud coming off the bench in the 60-7 victory.
Dupont’s importance to Les Bleus is highlighted by his record as captain as he is yet to lose on home soil as skipper, a run dating back to 14 Tests.
He took over the role from flanker Charles Ollivon in November 2021 and led the side to the 2022 Six Nations Grand Slam as well as convincing Test wins over New Zealand and the Springboks.
His return is also a positive for tournament organisers with Dupont being used as a poster boy for the competition, having been seen on advertising campaigns for water bottles, smartphones and the national rail service over recent weeks.
Some criticised the idea of Dupont coming back too soon, including former France back-rower Olivier Magne.
“There’s a level of danger that is significant with an early return, so you have to be vigilant,” Magne told AFP after Dupont’s injury.
“There’s a problem with the message it sends out to the general public by allowing a player back after such a serious injury,” he added.
France head coach Fabien Galthie has just one other injury worry before naming his team on Friday to face the Springboks.
First-choice hooker Julien Marchand has been out since the tournament-opening win over New Zealand but could return for this weekend’s game in the French capital.
Ex-France captain Galthie has had to deal with the absence of Dupont’s club and Test team-mate in fly-half Romain Ntamack as well as giant lock Paul Willemse due to injury as France eye a first World Cup title.
