The Rugby World Cup campaign of France captain Antoine Dupont may be in jeopardy after it was confirmed through scans that he suffered a fractured jaw in their recent triumph over Namibia.
Despite achieving their greatest victory with a resounding 96-0 win, the French team will be understandably anxious to witness their star player exit the field in the second half with an injury.
Dupont, who is 27 years old, sustained the injury in the 46th minute following a collision with Johan Deysel, which resulted in the latter receiving a red card after review.
In a post-game interview, head coach Fabien Galthie acknowledged that there was an inkling of a crack or fracture in the maxillary bone.
The French Rugby Federation has since released a statement confirming that Dupont has a maxillo-zygomatic fracture and that they have requested a specialist surgical opinion to determine the player’s period of unavailability.
The injury is expected to sideline Dupont for France’s final Pool A match versus Italy on October 6, and it may also jeopardize his participation in their potential quarter-final match against either Ireland or South Africa.
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Attack coach Laurent Labit has provided some details regarding the extent of the damage and the potential need for surgical intervention, saying they are awaiting the surgeon’s opinion, which will determine the length of Dupont’s unavailability.
Maxime Lucu is Dupont’s regular replacement at scrum-half, and Baptiste Couilloud can also serve as a substitute.
France is already without their first-choice fly-half, Romain Ntamack, who suffered a knee injury in a warm-up test last month.
Since Galthie took over after the 2019 World Cup, the French team has experienced a resurgence, winning a Six Nations by claiming a Grand Slam and emerging as one of the favourites for the current World Cup on home soil, primarily due to the remarkable talents of their half-backs.
