Not good at all.

France scrumhalf Antoine Dupont was forced off last night during his side’s win over Namibia last night, and the latest update does not sound good.

Dupont was forced off for an HIA early in the second half of last night’s victory following a dangerous tackle from Namibia captain Johann Deysel, with initial reports suggesting he had suffered a concussion and a potential facial fracture.

Deysel was red-carded for the incident, with former Ireland international Bernard Jackman calling it a “horrendous” tackle on RTE.

“That’s an horrendous tackle, that’s a red straight away,” Jackman said.

“The bunker thing, sometimes you’ve just got to call it… Potentially the best player in the world’s World Cup is in doubt now because of a reckless challenge.”

And it looks like Jackman was right, with reports now emerging that Dupont has suffered an “orbital fracture” that could see him ruled out of the Rugby World Cup until the semi-final at the earliest.

It’s a potentially devastating blow for both Dupont and France that could have serious implications on the competition as a whole.

If Dupont is ruled out, France have Baptiste Couilloud and Maxime Lucu as replacement nines in the squad with Toulon scrumhalf Baptiste Serin in line to be called up as his replacement in the squad.

As soon as we have another update on Dupont, we’ll be sure to let you know.