The clock is ticking. Antoine Dupont is in a race against time to hold on to his place in the French team for the Rugby World Cup quarter-final – likely to be played on October 15 against defending champions South Africa. The scrum-half underwent surgery for a maxillo-zygomatic fracture on Friday, September 22, the day after his injury during Les Bleus' emphatic 96-0 victory over Namibia and is keen to get back to work with his partners as soon as possible.
"Touché mais pas coulé (...) hâte de retrouver le groupe [Hit but not lost (...) eager to get back to the group]," the Bleus captain posted on his networks, embellishing his message with an hourglass emoji. While much of France spent the weekend studying everything it could about maxillo-zygomatic fractures – it peaked as never before during the search engine frenzy over the expression on Friday – many questions remain unanswered.
What exactly is Dupont suffering from? "It's an ordinary fracture suffered by an extraordinary patient," summed up Nicolas Sigaux, a maxillofacial surgeon in Lyon. This injury "is one of the pathologies we see on a daily basis in traumatology," explained the specialist. Dupont was violently struck in the face in the 45th minute of the match, during an abrupt tackle by Johan Deysel – who received a red card for his action. The Toulouse scrum-half was hit on the zygomatic bone, that of the cheekbone. "It acts a bit like the bumper of the face," said Sigaux. As is customary in such situations, a plate was placed on the injured bone to reinforce it.
One big question remains: How long will the winner of the "World's Best Player" award in 2021 be away from the pitch? "If his highly experienced surgical team feels that he can resume before the theoretical six weeks of [bone] consolidation, they know what they're doing," insisted Sigaux, adding that "it all depends on the fracture."
In Dupont's case, three things are important. The first of these is the cerebral risk because "a trauma to the face is first and foremost a cranial trauma," pointed out Sigaux. When your car bumper is dented, it's best to check the condition of the engine. On Thursday evening, the French captain was released from the pitch on concussion protocol. This means that regardless of his cheekbone, he would not be able to resume sport for at least 10 days. Then there's the risk to vision, as the zygomatic bone also protects the eye. In Dupont's case, this seems to have already been ruled out, "otherwise we wouldn't be talking about an early return," insisted Signaux. Finally, it will be necessary to ensure the solidity and stability of the operation performed, even if the area, reinforced by a titanium plate, is not likely to break again at the slightest impact.
You have 60.62% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.