Antoine Dupont reunites with Naoto Saito at Osaka's World Expo

France captain Antoine Dupont was reunited with his Toulouse teammate Naoto Saito at the World Expo in Osaka on Monday.

The injured Paris 2024 Olympic sevens champion ruptured his cruciate ligament in his right knee on March 8 against Ireland in the Six Nations.

Dupont, 28, has recently stepped up his comeback after returning to running on the weekend while visiting a private medical facility in Geneva, Switzerland.

The 2021 World Player of the Year and three-time Six Nations Player of the Championship is an ambassador for Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH), a French multinational corporation and conglomerate specialising in luxury goods, who he is representing at the expo.

Dupont visited the French Pavilion at the expo on Monday to celebrate the French National Day.

In a short speech, the two-time European Champions Cup winner praised his country’s exceptional showcase at the expo and highlighted the strong ties that exist between France and Japan.

Following his speech, he engaged in a friendly and symbolic exchange with Japan star Saito, who started in the Brave Blossoms’ 22-31 loss to Wales in Kobe on Saturday.  

Picture courtesy of France Pavilion at the Osaka Expo

Former Suntory Sungoliath scrum-half Saito, 27, signed a one-year contract extension with the Top 14 giants in June which will keep him at the club until the end of the 2025-2026 season.

Dupont told L'Équipe that he’s aiming to return to action in November.

"I think that's already a reasonable time frame," he said.

"I hope everything will go well between now and then."

The French icon is taking a cautious approach to his comeback having already suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in the same knee in February 2018. 

Dupont posted a Kintetsu Liners poster on his Instagram account

Dupont attended a baseball game on Tuesday night as the 2023 Japan series champions, Osaka-based Hanshin Tigers hosted Chunichi Dragons at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo.  

The World Expo will run until 13 October 2025.