Antoine Dupont outlines return date from injury

France and Toulouse superstar Antoine Dupont has revealed he is expecting to return to action from his ACL injury at the end of November or the beginning of December.

The scrum-half has been out of action since early March when he ruptured his ACL against Ireland in round four of the Guinness Six Nations in Dublin.

The 28-year-old was in attendance for Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-0 victory over Auxerre at the Parc de Prince in Ligue 1 on Saturday, where he was pitchside alongside France’s recent Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele.

Speaking to PSG TV, Dupont gave an outline as to when rugby fans can expect to see him back on the field again.

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“It’s going well, but it’s still a long time,” he said. “It’s my second time with the cruciate ligaments. So I want to be patient and do things right to come back in the best possible condition.

“End of November or beginning of December, it won’t be before then.”

No one harboured any hope that the Frenchman would be available for Les Bleus’ Autumn Nations Series campaign in November, where they will face South Africa, Fiji and Australia, but this confirms his absence.

Toulouse get their Investec Champions Cup campaign underway against the Sharks at home on December 7, followed by a trip to Glasgow Warriors the following week. This prognosis suggests the French maestro could be available in some capacity for Toulouse’s European campaign.

An injury-hit Toulouse crashed out of the Champions Cup to eventual winners Bordeaux-Begles in fairly limp fashion in the semi-final stage last season, but were able to exact revenge on the same opposition weeks later in the Top 14 final.

In the meantime, France head coach Fabien Galthie will be keeping a keen eye on France’s scrum-halves over the next month ahead of November, with Dupont’s deputy in blue, Bordeaux’s Maxime Lucu, still out of action with a thumb injury.