EXCLUSIVE: France star Antoine Dupont could miss the rest of the Rugby World Cup with a
France fear that their captain and scrum-half talisman, Antoine Dupont, could miss the rest of this home World Cup, as he is expected to be out of action for up to six weeks.
The 26-year-old was helped off during the second half of his team’s 96-0 win over Namibia in St Etienne on Thursday night after a clash of heads with Johan Deysel that led to the visiting centre being sent off for a dangerous high tackle.
Deysel may have ended Dupont’s tournament. Mail Sport understands that he has fractured his maxillary – upper jaw – bone and the initial prognosis is that his likely recovery time is between four and six weeks.
All of France and rugby fans around the globe will be desperately hoping that the Toulouse superstar can defy this grim medical assessment.
The best-case scenario at this stage appears to be that Dupont can come through frantic rehab just in time to be available for a semi-final in Paris on October 21 – providing France have managed to overcome either South Africa or Ireland, without him, in the last eight.
Antoine Dupont looked in serious pain while holding an ice bag to his cheekbone in France’s win over Namibia on Thursday
Dupont (right) is suspected to have fractured his cheekbone during a tackle by Namibia’s Johan Deysel (left)
The worst-case scenario is that Dupont will play no further part in the whole event, as six weeks on from the incident is November 2 – five days after the World Cup Final in the French capital.
Dupont’s suspected cheekbone fracture and likely concussion has left Fabien Galthie, his team-mates, and the whole of France fretting over the seriousness of his injury.
On Friday morning, French television was dominated by news of their country’s captain and scrum-half’s injury.
Broadcasters even brought up graphics of a human skull, pointing out the exact area of the cheekbone they believe France’s iconic figure Dupont has broken. It is that serious.
‘There is a suspicion of a crack or fracture of the maxillary bone,’ France head coach Galthie said of Dupont’s injury – one which completely overshadowed his team’s 13-try Namibian victory. ‘He’s currently in hospital being tested. I can’t tell you more than that.
‘I’m staying connected and will tell you more if I hear (from him). I’m writing to him now. We are never happy when a player gets injured. We are extremely concerned.’
Dupont was in tears as he left the field for a head injury assessment and did not return. The scrum-half is undoubtedly the best player in the world right now and seemed to know he had suffered a serious problem.
France have already suffered injury misery at this World Cup. The hosts lost playmaker Romain Ntamack and key lock Paul Willemse before the tournament. But seeing Dupont injured is the worst-case scenario for Galthie’s men given his status as captain and enormous ability.
France head coach Fabien Galthie revealed his star scrum-half is undergoing hospital tests
Dupont (middle) is France’s best player and the poster boy of the ongoing Rugby World Cup
‘Antoine got a big hit on his face and we will do some exams to make sure nothing is wrong with him, but he is a strong guy and we can rely on his strength,’ France team manager Raphael Ibanez said.
‘We feel sorry for Antoine. It just reminds us how dangerous it can be with a head-to-head contact.’ France fielded a full-strength team against Namibia in what was a totally one-sided contest.
Dupont (right) left the pitch in tears on Thursday evening
Galthie hit back at suggestions he should have taken Dupont off at half time. If Dupont is confirmed to have fractured a cheekbone, it is likely he would face a minimum of three weeks on the sidelines.
‘What do you want me to say? You can’t take 14 players off at half time,’ Galthie said.‘Our plan was to bring off one, three and five at half time, then the rest at the 55th minute.
‘The aim was to give everyone some game time and not sit back for a month. The players wanted and needed to play.’ Maxime Lucu and Baptiste Couilloud are the other French scrum-halves in Galthie’s World Cup squad. France now face an anxious wait to see how bad Dupont’s injury is.
The fear is it could well end his tournament. Such a situation would be a catastrophic blow not only for the world’s best player and France, but also for this tournament as a whole.
Dupont is the pin-up boy for this French World Cup. His team-mates were understandably concerned for their skipper post-match.
There are now serious fears that Dupont (middle) could miss the rest of the competition
Francois Cros said: ‘I hope it’s not serious. If it is, it would obviously have an impact on him and on us. We still have some experienced nines who can take over.
‘Watching the replay, we knew the decision the referee would make. But we had no idea about Toto’s (Dupont’s) condition.
‘We didn’t know if he was going off as a precaution or if he was really hurt until the end of the match.’ Centre Gael Fickou said: ‘At the moment, we don’t know what’s wrong.
‘We’re obviously waiting and waiting. We’re frustrated for him. ‘I hope he’ll be able to play and that it’s nothing serious. We’re all waiting impatiently for the results. ‘When he went off, we suspected it was a bit serious.’