Victim of a ruptured ligament in his right knee at the end of January, the international third-row player is very close to returning to the field.
The smile is huge and permanent. Anthony Jelonch, victim of a serious injury to his left knee in February 2023 – he had managed to come back in six months to play in the World Cup, then of a new rupture of the ligaments in the other knee on January 21, 2024, will finally play again in the Top 14 in two to three weeks. With desire and ambition.
You announced on Monday that your return to the field was very close…
Anthony Jelonch : I’ve been training with the group for three weeks now. It’s going very well. We said to ourselves that I would train for a month, a month and a half, see how I feel and as soon as I’m ready… In my head, I already feel like I’m ready (laugh). But we thought it would be better to wait a month to train well before starting again.
What are your feelings?
They are very good. I already had this injury last season so I knew it well. After six months, I was able to resume with good feelings. Due to bad luck, I hurt my second knee. I trained even harder. And I resumed even faster because the injury was less serious than on the first knee. If I wait a little longer, it is mainly because I protect my body even more to be able to be at the top.
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Did you ever get discouraged with this second serious injury in less than a year?
It’s crazy but not at all. I never got discouraged, I told myself that there were more serious things in life. It’s something that has already happened to others, so why not to me? It’s not luck but we get back up and work hard. There was no problem for me. I knew that I was going to come back for the start of the season, that was my goal. With a great desire to have a great season and not get injured again this year!
Do you know exactly when you will be back on the field?
Not particularly, no. Maybe against La Rochelle in two weeks or in Montpellier in three. If it’s not one of those two games, it will be the next one. I’m not under pressure to resume in this or that game…
“If we want to be competitive in both competitions, Top 14 and Champions Cup, we need a lot of very high-level players. That’s what we have in Toulouse in every position.”
Is the November tour of the French XV also an objective?
We’ll see how I resume already. The first time, I resumed quite well, and I had good feelings on the field. I tell myself that it will be the same. If I play good matches, and I deserve to be called up, of course I will be happy to go. If I am not up to the task, I will continue to work. There will be other objectives with the French team during the season and I will do everything to be ready at that time.
Ugo Mola had a big turnover last season, with nearly 60 players used. The competition is going to be fierce…
We can say that there are a lot of us, but we are all close. We know that if we want to be competitive in both competitions, we need a lot of very high-level players. That’s what we have in Toulouse in every position. This competition is really healthy and we all pull each other up. In training, we train really well and hard. And we all know that we’re going to have our chance.
Stade Toulousain will be able to count on a full-time Antoine Dupont after his break at 7. Has his Olympic title made him even stronger?
I saw him again after the Olympics, he was super relaxed, even more so with this gold medal. He is still resting his body before coming back with us. He will resume when he wants. (Smile) We are of course eager to have him back, but if he can rest well and be even better for the second half of the season…
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You find a Stade Toulousain champion of Europe and champion of France. How to remotivate yourself to continue winning titles?
Since 2019, there have been six titles at Stade Toulousain. Each time, we still get motivated again. There have been two doubles in five years (2021 et 2024). There are generations that have marked the history of Stade Toulousain and we want to be part of them. We are starting to mark it, but if we want to do it even more, we still have to win. From the steward to the players to the coach, everyone wants to win!
