France captain Dupont has cruciate knee injury

France captain Antoine Dupont ruptured cruciate ligaments in his knee during Les Bleus' Six Nations win over Ireland on Saturday.

Dupont, 28, was forced off in the first half after Ireland second row Tadhg Beirne fell on his leg at a ruck.

"The heart hurts even more than the knee when you have to leave your friends before the last step," Dupont posted on Instagram.

"I am proud of what we accomplished yesterday and with all my strength with you, you will do it.

"Rupture of the cruciate ligaments. This is the beginning of a new challenge, I'll see you in a few months on the field."

France head coach Fabien Galthie said there was "anger" in the French camp over the incident, which was not referred to the television match official (TMO) during the game.

Galthie said Dupont was "suffering" and that he has referred Ireland pair Beirne and Andrew Porter to the citing commissioner for possible retrospective punishment.

BBC Sport has been told the citing commissioner has viewed all the evidence and will take no further action.

Dupont was replaced by Maxime Lucu, who was France's only back replacement, and he impressed to help Les Bleus score 34 unanswered points to ensure they top the Six Nations heading into their final match against Scotland on Saturday.

Victory for Galthie's side at Stade de France would likely secure a first Six Nations title since 2022.

Analysis - 'A crushing blow for French rugby'

Chris Jones, BBC rugby union correspondent

It is a crushing blow for French rugby and the sport in Europe in general, although there will be no further action taken against any Ireland players. The citing commissioner reviewed all the evidence and decided there was nothing to report.

Fabien Galthie was angry afterwards but will be confident enough with what he has at number nine. Dupont's replacement - Maxime Lucu - was brilliant against Ireland.

In the short term, France will try to win the Six Nations without their talisman, while in the medium term Toulouse will miss their man man as they look to retain the Top 14 and Champions Cup.

But it is desperately disappointing news that Dupont will miss the bulk of 2025. There are players that have had their careers stalled by an injury of this severity, so the hope will be he is just as good - if not better - when he is ready to return.