France captain Antoine Dupont sustained a facial fracture in the record victory over Namibia, but he has not yet been ruled out of the World Cup, the French rugby federation announced Friday.

"Specialized surgical advice was requested to assess how long he will be unavailable for,"they added.

France, who ran in 14 tries in a record 96-0 victory over Namibia on Thursday, are scheduled to play their final Pool A match against Italy in Lyon on October 6.

Media reports said Dupont would be sidelined for a month, meaning the influential scrumhalf would miss not only the host nation's game against Italy, but also the World Cup quarterfinals on the weekend of October 14-15.

Dupont was forced off the field at Marseille's Stade Vélodrome in the 46th minute following a clash of heads with Namibia skipper Johan Deysel in a clumsy tackle.

Deysel was initially handed a yellow card, later rightly upgraded to red, although Namibia coach Allister Coetzee described it as an "unfortunate accident".

Dupont, 26, who is yet to lose in a France team he has skippered on home soil in 14 Tests, was immediately taken to hospital for scans on his injury.

France kicked off their World Cup with a morale-boosting 27-13 tournament-opening win over New Zealand before a largely second-string side labored past Uruguay 27-12.

France head coach Fabien Galthie said, "I'll remember the win and the stadium. You've got to congratulate the Marseille crowd for the incredible atmosphere. The points scored, zero points conceded. It was a serious match."

"The tries are anecdotal. We'll remember today's victory," said France wing and player of the match Damian Penaud.

"We played well together, we kept going for 80 minutes, we enjoyed ourselves and we're proud of the people who came to see us. I think that's the most important thing," Penaud added.

"It's the work we've been doing for the past four years. We were determined to play well together, to play well as a team, something we weren't able to do in the last two games.

"Now we've found a bit of cohesion on the pitch, it bodes well for the future."

(With input from agencies)