France star Antoine Dupont reveals his targeted return date after long injury lay-off

The soon-to-be 29-year-old hasn't played since getting seriously injured in last March's Six Nations win by France away to Ireland.

The scrum-half was a first-half casualty in that 42-27 victory, suffering a cruciate ligament injury that was a bone of contention in the aftermath, as French coach Fabien Galthie described as "reprehensible" the Irish clear-out at the ruck which hurt Dupont.

Galthie's opinion wasn't backed up by the match citing officer, but that outcome didn't change the fact that Dupont would be sidelined for a considerable length of time.

Since that March 8 injury, he has missed being involved in France's title-clinching Six Nations win against Scotland and Toulouse's Top 14 final success against Bordeaux. However, he has now confirmed that he expects to be back in action before the calendar year is over.

While Toulouse were beating Castres 59-12 at home last Saturday in the Top 14, Dupont was in Paris to watch the PSG footballers beat Auxerre 2-0 in Ligue 1. There, he agreed to an interview with PSG TV in which he gave an update on the status of his knee injury.

"It's going well, but it's still a long time. It's my second time with the cruciate ligaments, so I want to be patient and do things right to come back in the best possible condition," he said before confirming a return to play date. "End of November or beginning of December, it won't be before then."

That would rule him out of involvement in France's Autumn Nations Series, but it would provide him with a block of league and Champions Cup fixtures with Toulouse over the winter to get him ready for the 2026 Six Nations which starts on February 5 with the French hosting Ireland at Stade de France.

That is a venue on the other side of Paris from Parc des Princes, the old rugby ground now used by PSG for their football matches. "I've been here a few times, but it's a really beautiful stadium," added Dupont about the Parc in his PSG TV interview.

"It makes you want to come and play here but I don't think we (rugby players) are very welcome. They are afraid we will damage the pitch!"

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