Specialist.

France’s dreams of winning the Rugby World Cup were dealt a potential major blow this week when Antoine Dupont suffered a fractured jaw against Namibia on Thursday night.

The talented number nine suffered the injury following a nasty head-to-head collision with Namibia captain Johan Deysel, whose initial yellow card was upgraded to a red after a bunker review.

France sought specialist advice following the incident and their captain had an operation on the fracture on Friday. The French Rugby Federation (FFR) confirmed Dupont has since returned to the squad, although their statement did not say whether Dupont will play again at the tournament.

But now MailOnline are reporting that Dupont has an appointment with a specialist about creating a face mask that may allow him to return for the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.

World Rugby guidelines state that players are not allowed to wear equipment more than 5mm thick to minimise the risk of injuring an opponent.

But the report suggests the French management are exploring the option of customising a thin and malleable mask that would fall within the guidelines.