France captain Antoine Dupont fit and ‘fully ready’ for World Cup quarter-final

Captain Antoine Dupont has declared himself “fully ready” to lead France in Sunday’s World Cup quarter-final against South Africa as he prepares to return to the starting XV just over three weeks after a broken cheekbone had him fearing his involvement in the tournament was over.

The 2021 world player of the year underwent surgery after going off injured following a head-on-head tackle from Namibia captain Johan Deysel in Les Bleus’ third pool match in Marseille on September 21, leaving the host nation fretting about their talisman’s availability for the remainder of the competition.

After resuming full training this week, Dupont has satisfied medics and coaching staff that he is ready to start Sunday’s box-office Stade de France showdown with the world champions.

“I feel very well,” said the 26-year-old scrum-half, speaking at Les Bleus’ team announcement press conference at Roland Garros on Friday.

“At the time, I didn’t know how serious the injury was so I thought the competition was over for me.

“I had to wait to get my hope back. I was lucky enough to have several weeks to rejuvenate and repair and have a full training week with the group.

“Today I am fully capable to be ready for this game on Sunday.”

Dupont admitted coming through training unscathed this week was a big thing for his mindset as he dismissed any suggestion that he has been rushed back into action ahead of schedule.

“It was quite progressive,” he said of his return to play. “I started low-intensity running and went up and up – and the same with contact. I started in the middle of last week.

“This week I was able to train fully and get back into game and contact situations which enabled me to get my confidence back.

“I’m fully ready and fit and had no