EXCLUSIVE: Antoine Dupont is set to undergo a medical in Paris on Monday to determine whether or not he can feature in hosts France’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against South Africa

• Antoine Dupont will have tests on Monday to see if he can make France return
• Scrum-half underwent surgery for a fractured cheekbone 18 days ago
• Manu Tuilagi and Jamie George given all clear for England after Samoa win 
• Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results

France superstar Antoine Dupont will undergo a medical on Monday to determine whether or not he can play the World Cup quarter-final against South Africa.

The scrum-half fractured his cheekbone against Namibia 18 days ago and has undergone surgery in a bid to return for the knockouts.

Dupont has already returned to partial training but has not taken part in full-contact exercises as the bruising eases beneath his eye.

Mail Sport understands he will undergo decisive medical examinations at the team’s base in Paris today to judge if he will be back in contention for selection.

His injury has become one of the biggest stories of the competition, with the injured No 9 receiving huge cheers every time his face has appeared on big screen.

France will find out on Monday if scrum-half Antoine Dupont can return to action for the remainder of their World Cup campaign

Dupont underwent surgery on a fractured cheekbone suffered in the Pool A win against Namibia

France initially feared that he could have been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament but are now hopeful Dupont can make a remarkable recovery.

Meanwhile, England also received positive injury news as hooker Jamie George and centre Manu Tuilagi were given the all clear after Saturday’s victory over Samoa.

England received a boost after both Jamie George and Manu Tuilagi came through the win against Samoa without serious injury

Sam Underhill has joined up with the England squad to replace injured flanker Jack Willis 

They are now in contention for Sunday’s quarter final against Fiji, with flanker Sam Underhill also in the mix haven flown out to Marseille to replace injured Jack Willis.

Underhill, 27, was cut from Steve Borthwick’s squad in July having starred in his ‘kamikaze kids’ double act with Tom Curry at the 2019 World Cup.

He admitted last month that he was ‘gutted’ to miss out but he has been handed a reprieve in unfortunate circumstances after Willis suffered a neck injury.

Coach Kevin Sinfield said: ‘Sam is a Test match animal and is a fantastic player. It is a like for like replacement. He brings some differences but many similarities and he’s a great character as well. He knows what it is like to play well at World Cups. He has done it previously and he brings a great deal of experience too.’

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