France captain Dupont not ruled out of Rugby World Cup despite facial fracture

"Specialised surgical advice was requested to assess how long he will be unavailable for," added the federation.

France, who ran in 14 tries in a record 96-0 victory over Namibia on Thursday, are scheduled to play their final Pool A match against Italy in Lyon on October 6.

Media reports said Dupont would be sidelined for a month, meaning the influential scrum-half would miss not only the host nation's game against Italy, but also the World Cup quarter-finals on the weekend of October 14-15.

Dupont was forced off the field at Marseille's Stade Vélodrome in the 46th minute following a clash of heads with Namibia skipper Johan Deysel in a clumsy tackle.

Deysel was initially handed a yellow card, later rightly upgraded to red, although Namibia coach Allister Coetzee described it as an "unfortunate accident".

Dupont, 26, who is yet to lose in a France team he has skippered on home soil in 14 Tests, was immediately taken to hospital for scans on his injury.

France kicked off their World Cup with a morale-boosting 27-13 tournament-opening win over New Zealand before a largely second-string side laboured past Uruguay 27-12.

(AFP)

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