The scrum half of the French XV Antoine Dupont, operated on for a broken jaw on September 22 and whose return is hoped for in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup, is “in great physical shape”, Karim Ghezal said on Saturday , coach in charge of the sidelines. Antoine Dupont, victim of a violent shock during the large group stage victory over Namibia (96-0), was operated on the next day in Toulouse by Professor Frédéric Lauwers, a specialist in maxillofacial surgery. He has an appointment on Monday with this same specialist, a visit prior to a complete return to the field.
Towards a return to the field for the quarter-final?
“His physical qualities are impressive. He has worked well physically: a lot of races, a lot of speed, these are his strong points,” Karim Ghezal reported on Saturday during a press briefing. “As far as anything physical is concerned, he hasn’t lost much in a week off, on the contrary. Physically, he is in great shape,” he added.
The Toulouse player (26 years old, 51 caps) did not participate in his team’s great success on Friday evening in Lyon over Italy (60-7), which validated their qualification in the quarters. His meeting on Monday in Toulouse with Professor Lauwers constitutes a prerequisite for a return to full training or even participation in the quarter-final on October 15, for which the Blues will know their opponent on Saturday evening.
After having undergone surgery, Antoine Dupont rested for around ten days before meeting his teammates last weekend in Aix-en-Provence, where the Blues were preparing for the match against Italy. He then only participated in re-athletic exercises, on the sidelines of training for the French XV.
“No player has any concerns” after the group stages
Asked about possible injuries following the match against the Italians, Ghezal, who specified that the Blues benefited from two days of rest on Saturday and Sunday, was also reassuring: “all the players are going to the medical center this morning ( and) from what I’ve heard, no player has any concerns.”
In addition to Dupont, hooker Julien Marchand, injured in the hamstring during the opening victory against the All Blacks, is still in treatment. “He ran. As a coach, they will tell me Monday or Tuesday if he is fit,” underlined Karim Ghezal. As for winger Damian Penaud, author of two tries on Friday but who was seen limping in the second period, “everything is fine”, explained Ghezal, specifying that he had taken “a slight blow” on a shin, before ‘add: “Damian is 100%”.