Injured in the jaw, Antoine Dupont took a new step on Monday on the road to returning to the Blues. Authorized to resume contact rugby, he will participate in training with his teammates who are preparing for their quarter-final against South Africa. It remains to be seen whether he will make the squad for this crucial match.
Published on: 09/10/2023 – 1:38 p.m.
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The scrum half and captain of the XV of France Antoine Dupont, operated on September 22 for a broken jaw, was authorized, Monday, October 9, to resume collective training, less than a week before the quarter-final of the World Cup against South Africa.
“Following his medical examination planned today (Monday, editor’s note) with the surgeon who previously operated on him, Antoine Dupont obtained authorization to resume rugby training today,” announced the French Rugby Federation. (FFR), without providing any clue on his participation in next Sunday’s match against the reigning world champions.
Antoine Dupont (26 years old, 51 caps) had an appointment in Toulouse with Professor Frédéric Lauwers, specialist in maxillofacial surgery, for a medical examination which promised to be crucial.
Victim of a violent shock during the large group stage victory over Namibia (96-0) in Marseille on September 21, the captain of the Blues was operated on the next day at the Purpan hospital in Toulouse, before returning Barely 10 days later its partners, for a “progressive” individual recovery phase.
Dupont back at his post?
Six days before an incandescent meeting at the Stade de France against South Africa, the reigning world champion, Professor Lauwers authorized him to resume rugby with contacts, and consequently the training of the XV of France from Tuesday in Rueil-Malmaison (Hauts-de-Seine), the base camp of the Blues.
“He worked well physically: a lot of racing, a lot of speed, these are his strong points,” said Karim Ghezal, the co-coach of the Blues in charge of the conquest, on Saturday. “As far as anything physical goes, he hasn’t lost much in a week off, on the contrary. Physically, he’s in great shape.”
Read alsoRugby World Cup: the quarter-final program
The Blues, who have already had to deal with the withdrawal of opener Romain Ntamack, victim of a ruptured cruciate knee ligament in mid-August, will therefore find their number 9, voted best player in the world in 2021. However, there still remains a major question: will Antoine Dupont be on the Saint-Denis lawn on Sunday? And, before that, what will his attitude be during collective training on Tuesday and Wednesday?
The good performance of replacement Lucu
Fabien Galthié and his management, who will announce their team on Friday October 13, will decide whether their star player will be part of the starting XV based on how he will handle this recovery mentally and physically.
Planet Rugby
16:40 Planet rugby © Capture France 24
In the absence of his playing master, the Blues were able to count on his usual understudy in the number 9 position, Maxime Lucu (Bordeaux-Bègles, 30 years old, 18 sel.), starter during the last group match in Lyon against to Italy, won easily (60-7).
In a more sober style than Dupont, Lucu, associated at the hinge with his UBB teammate Matthieu Jalibert – who became number 1 at the opening after the withdrawal of Romain Ntamack -, ensured and managed, quickly distributing the ball and making the right choices. He was then replaced in the 54th minute by the number 3 in the position, Lyonnais Baptiste Couilloud.
With AFP
