Invited to appear before the media, the “Monsieur Santé” Bruno Boussagol of the French XV obviously spoke at length about the case of Antoine Dupont, expected very soon with the Blues.
Can you come back to Antoine Dupont’s injury and the exact course of events?
He suffered a frontal impact, following which Doctor Philippe Turblin diagnosed a suspected facial fracture, with the notion of concussion. When he came off the field, he underwent examinations in the locker room, then left for additional imaging. From there, a medical unit was formed, between the doctors of the France team, his club in Toulouse, Antoine and his family. He spent the night in the hospital because swelling and pain had formed. We prepared for his return to the hotel, then his visit to a specialized surgeon in Toulouse. We conditioned him, he saw the surgeon in the evening, then had surgery during the night.
Antoine Dupont is still at home. What are the latest news ?
His desire was to stay at home at rest, we respected this choice. He called us back on Saturday. Fabien Galthié’s first recommendations were obviously to respect the surgeon’s instructions, to take your time before coming back with us. We stayed in contact with him, he himself called several times for advice. What we can say is that 6 days after his operation, the edema is resolved. He still has pain related to the frontal impact, no postoperative difficulties. He is in good spirits, and he is very confident.
What will the protocol for his return consist of?
First, there will be a post-operative visit to the surgeon, fairly quickly. Then, it will be a question of orienting and supporting him in relation to this shock, because there will inevitably be secondary lesions, particularly at the level of the jaw joint. There is also the question of shock: Philippe Turblin has requested a neurological check-up, he will have it as soon as he arrives, which will authorize him to resume his physical activity or not. We accompany him and we hope for a quick return.
Who will decide?
His return will first be conditional on the green light from the surgeon. Until we have it, we have to wait. Then, its resumption will be conditioned by its HIA3 protocol. It will be done gradually, first on a bike, possibly at the start of the week. It will also be conditioned to his feelings, we are not going to put him in a situation of failure. He will inevitably go through a re-athleticization phase because he spent a week out of action. We are also planning interviews with our psychological part. Everything will be done gradually. There are elements that we cannot control, but he has strong motivation.
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When do you think he will return to the group?
Our projection is to have him with us next week, but we are not sure of anything yet. We can simply imagine that the surgeon will give his agreement, or at least partial agreement. What we don’t control is our ability to integrate rugby.
What about wearing a mask, which some seem to advocate?
For us, the question does not arise at the moment. This is not good timing. Some people recommend it, but we have not yet addressed it. A mask can be blunt and cause other problems. Personally, I am not in favor of it but if he asks us for that, we will study the question. But the question for us is the resumption of physical activity. The mask is secondary… We will first focus on the neurological control that Philippe Turblin requested. He did not describe any after-effects from this, but it is logical that he undergoes this examination first before resuming.