France downplay Antoine Dupont’s injury as Rugby World Cup hopes dwindle

France captain Antoine Dupont’s injury is worse than initially feared as his hopes of leading his country at the Rugby World Cup dwindle.

The brilliant scrum-half was forced off the pitch five minutes into the second half of the 96-0 battering of Namibia in the Pool A clash.

The number nine was on the wrong end of a nasty tackle from Namibia skipper Johan Deysel, which resulted in a red card for the centre.

Fresh update

Planet Rugby understands that the injury is worse than initially feared, with sources within the French camp suggesting that the injury is an orbital fracture and that complicates the recovery process.

Les Bleus’ captain is set for a second medical opinion and further scans this morning to reveal the severity of the injury, but we understand that Baptiste Serin has already joined the squad unofficially in a training capacity, with Fabian Galthie taking 48 hours before making a formal decision on the future of Dupont’s Rugby World Cup.

The French camp issued a statement on Friday morning which said: “Following the match between France and Namibia, which took place on September 21, 2023 in Marseille, Antoine Dupont, the captain of the XV of France, suffered a maxillozygomatic fracture.

“A specialized surgical opinion was requested to precisely define the duration of the downtime. Antoine Dupont remains with the France group.”

After the initial diagnosis last night, the Toulouse scrum-half looked set to make it back for the semi-finals, but this morning’s pending scan results and second opinion could put this prediction in jeopardy should the new tests reveal further damage – France Rugby have since confirmed that Dupont is getting a specialist surgical opinion.

Put simply, it could well be that Dupont is out of the tournament, and there’s a feeling within the French media that Galthie is playing this down.

Toulon flanker Charles Ollivon, France’s captain prior to Dupont for two years until the former’s ACL injury, will take over the leadership in the short term until a decision is reached formally on the French superstar.

France already lost key fly-half Romain Ntamack before the tournament, with the playmaker spotted in attendance at the game on Thursday evening.

That injury was followed by Paul Willemse’s with the abrasive lock also ruled out for the tournament but could return in the latter stages if another spot in the squad opens up.

France’s final pool stage match is against Italy on October 6, providing Galthie with some wiggle room to make his final decision.

The hosts currently top Pool A with 13 points and are set to progress through to the tournament’s quarter-finals.

READ MORE: ‘Do we just postpone the World Cup?’ – reaction to Antoine Dupont’s injury