2023-10-09 09:25:00
The scrum-half has an appointment this Monday with a surgeon who will give him permission or not to play in the quarter-final against the Boks on Sunday.
The scrum half of the XV of France Antoine Dupont, operated on September 22 for a broken jaw, will know on Monday if his surgeon authorizes him to play again, less than a week before the quarter-final of the World Cup that the Blues will play Sunday against the South Africans. Dupont (26 years old, 51 caps) has an appointment during the day in Toulouse with Professor Frédéric Lauwers, a specialist in maxillofacial surgery, for a crucial medical examination.
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 ten days later his partners, for an individual recovery phase. On Monday, he will see Professor Lauwers again who will tell him whether he authorizes him to resume contact rugby, and therefore training for the French XV.
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«He worked well physically: a lot of racing, a lot of speed, these are his strong points», Confided Saturday Karim Ghezal, the co-coach of the Blues in charge of the conquest. “In terms of everything physical, he didn’t lose much in a week of stopping, on the contrary. Physically, he is in great shape». «All that’s missing is the appointment with his surgeon who will decide» if the scrum half can play again, he concluded.
Concretely, either the doctor says “no”, and the Blues will have to do without their star player, as they have already had to deal since the start of the competition with the withdrawal of opener Romain Ntamack, victim of a ruptured cruciate ligament. of the knee in mid-August. Either Professor Lauwers says “yes”, and the Blues coach Fabien Galthié, his staff and Dupont will have to decide whether the Toulouse player regains his place in Sunday’s quarter-final against the reigning South African world champions. This medical examination is therefore far from trivial, six days before a meeting which promises to be incandescent at the Stade de France.
Lucu as a spare wheel in case of “no”
In the absence of its playing master, the XV of France counted on its usual understudy in the position of N.9, Maxime Lucu (Bordeaux-Bègles, 30 years old, 18 sel.), during its last group match Lyon against Italy, won easily (60-7).
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In a more sober style than Dupont, Lucu assured and managed, quickly distributing the ball and making the right choices, before being replaced in the 54th minute by the No.3 in the post, the Lyonnais Baptiste Couilloud.
If Dupont were not to be authorized to set foot on the rugby pitches again, Lucu could continue in the interim, being associated with the hinge, as in Lyon, with his teammate at UBB Matthieu Jalibert, who became N.1 at the opening after Ntamack’s package.
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