France captain Antoine Dupont could miss his side’s blockbuster clash against the Springboks in Paris on 8 November.
Dupont limped off the field in the 29th minute of Les Bleus’ Six Nations match against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday after Tadhg Beirne fell on his right leg at a ruck. The Irish lock appeared to have been pushed by prop Andrew Porter.
Dupont reportedly heard a ‘snap’ when the injury occurred, which suggests an ACL rupture.
The 28-year-old scrumhalf is yet to have an MRI scan, but if the diagnosis is confirmed, he will not only be ruled out for the rest of the season, but may not play again this year as the recovery time for an ACL is between six and nine months.
The latter would see him miss France’s much-anticipated rematch against the Boks, who famously beat Le Bleus by a point in their 2023 World Cup quarter-final in Paris.
MORE: France ‘fuelled’ by Dupont injury
Dupont was replaced by Maxime Lucu, the only back on the French bench, in Saturday’s match, which the visitors won 42-25 to move to the top of the Six Nations log with one round remaining.
“There is a suspicion of a fairly serious knee injury,” said a thunder-faced France coach Fabien Galthie at a press conference, adding that he was “angry” about the injury.
“I will not elaborate further on what the exact injury is due to medical protocols. All one can say is that Antoine is suffering.
“We have cited some players to appear before the disciplinary committee,” added Galthie, who blamed both Beirne and Porter for the injury.
Ireland interim coach Simon Easterby put it down as “just a rugby incident”.
“This happens,” he said. “It’s just one of those things that unfortunately happens in the game.”
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
