France and their supporters, Stade Toulousain and those who love them, but above all fans of the sport, are waiting for it: the competitive return of Antoine Dupont. Eight months after rupturing the cruciate ligament in his right knee in Ireland during the last Six Nations, the scrum-half will not be making his comeback just yet.

In a press conference on Friday, the Red and Blacks’ assistant coach, Virigile Lacombe, said there was still some waiting to do. “Antoine has been back training with us for several weeks now, he feels good. That said, his return to competition isn’t on the agenda yet, we’ll have to wait a little while“.

“I won’t name them, but we’ve seen players come back far too quickly after this serious injury, under pressure from their clubs. The result is that the muscle hadn’t knitted back together enough and gave way again“, a physio at a professional club, speaking anonymously, tells Ruck Zone.

“Being patient”

It is true that a ruptured cruciate ligament in the knee is one of the most feared injuries for any athlete. For seven months to a year, rehab has to be tightly managed and the return to full fitness can be a long one. So there is no skipping stages.

For Dupont, that is the case. Patience. The international scrum-half is on schedule. Stade Toulousain’s medical staff would rather not play with fire. And so much the better. Although the player himself had mentioned a return “at the end of November”, it might not happen until December. And perhaps a little later still?

“We’re on schedule, he feels good. Right now, it’s a good thing to see him training with us and enjoying himself on the pitch again. I think he’d missed it“, Lacombe added. Before going on: “We’re going to be patient now about the real return to competition (…) What ”drives” us isn’t the rugby deadlines, it’s the medical side and his ability to clear the stages set out by the medical department“.

In the meantime, Paul Graou will go on filling in. Young Nathan Llaveria is ready to take over. Antoine Dupont’s return will have to wait, but in the end that can only be better for his health.