Antoine Dupont could wear an Imanol Harinordoki-style mask to take back France

Antoine Dupont is undergoing treatment after contact with Johan Deisel from Namibia. Photo: Getty Images/David Rogers

Antoine Dupont will meet with a specialist later this week to consider fitting a mask to help him recover from a facial fracture.

Dupont remains on course for a miraculous return to action and France's talismanic captain is ready for it, according to reports across the Channel. Return to Les Blais camp on Thursday and take part in modified training on Sunday, just 10 days after suffering a facial fracture in his team's record win over Namibia and still showing no signs of a concussion.

In news that evokes memories of the mask worn by former France international Imanol Harinordoki during his time with the club for Biarritz, French rugby newspaper Midi Olympique added that Dupont is exploring the possibility of wearing a Harinordoki-style mask to speed him back to action.

Biarritz's Imanol Harinordoki wears a protective mask during the 2010 Heineken Cup semi-final against Munster. Photo: Getty Images/David Rogers

The 26-year-old was forced off the field in the 46th minute of France's biggest World Cup win last Thursday after Namibian captain Johan Deysel's head-on tackle left the scrum, claiming operation, which was successfully completed on Friday evening. .

France will begin preparations for Italy on Monday, a must-win game expected to arrive too soon for Dupont on Friday, October 6th. However, it is hoped that the scrum semi-final is suitable for the knockout stages of the competition and that the protective mask will allow the world's best player to line up for the quarter-finals at the Stade de France on Sunday 15 October. most likely against South Africa.

Telegraph Sport understands that any mask made for Dupont must be signed off by World Rugby, whose current rules state that it must not contain hard materials and that «a player must not wear any item of [clothing/protection], any part which in an uncompressed state is thicker than 5 mm or has a density of more than 60 kilograms per cubic meter.”

The Harinordoki face guard remains one of the iconic images of European rugby. The defender broke his nose taking on Sébastien Chabal in the Top 14 match against Racing 92 (then Metro), and the Heineken Cup semi-final decider against Munster will take place a week later.

In order. To stay fit, Harinordoki donned a mask and played a starring role in Biarritz's victory over the Irish provinces, although Toulouse would later be crowned champions in the final.

Closer to home, at the 2023 Six Nations, Kyle Sinclair suffered a nasty cut his nose against Italy, but the Englishman still faced Wales two weeks later after training wearing a custom-made carbon fiber mask to protect the wound until the match.