France captain Antoine Dupont given all clear

France's iconic skipper Antoine Dupont has been declared fit by his surgeon and France medical staff to play in Les Bleus upcoming Rugby World Cup quarter-final.

Dupont had surgery to repair a fractured cheekbone sustained a fortnight ago in France’s 96-0 win against Namibia and was immediately in a race against time to the make the knockouts stages of the tournament.

The Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR) confirmed his return this Monday morning in a statement.

“Following his medical visit planned today (Monday) with the surgeon who previously operated on him, Antoine Dupont obtained authorization to resume rugby training today,” explained the FFR.

France had been confident of a quick return for the Toulouse star.

“His physical qualities are impressive," said France support coach Karim Ghezal on Saturday. "He’s worked hard physically, done a lot of running, a lot of speed work. Those are his strong points. The next step, is the appointment with his surgeon, who will decide. Physically, he hasn’t lost much in the week he’s been off, quite the opposite in fact. Physically, he’s in great shape.”

The fixtures for the quarter-finals of Rugby World Cup 2023 have been confirmed with host nation France playing reigning and three-time champions South Africa and the world's number-one-ranked side Ireland taking on three-time champions New Zealand at Stade de France in Saint-Denis.

At Stade de Marseille, Pool C winners Wales will play Argentina after Los Pumas' crucial victory against Japan in Nantes. At the same venue, Pool D winners England will play Fiji, who are set to compete in the knock-out stages of the Rugby World Cup for the first time since 2007.