ON TOMMY BOWE’S BODYCHECK last Sunday, the Irish public got a glimpse into the dedication and perspiration required to make the Monaghan man a success on the rugby field.

The cameras have stopped rolling but Bowe is still hard at work as he tries to regain traction, mobility and comfort in the right knee he gruesomely hyper-extended against Northampton in January.

The Ulster and Ireland winger has undergone surgery on his knee and a return in time for his province’s Heineken Cup quarter final with Saracens is the optimistic return date.

Bowe, however, has never had a serious knee injury before and pessimistic, or realistic, thoughts have to be dealt with.

In an interview with Club Rugby magazine, Bowe admits that his return to action is a matter of ‘months rather than weeks’.

He also concedes that his hopes of making his second British and Irish Lions tour are getting slimmer with each passing week of rugby he misses. He said:

I think the odds are stacked against me at the minute, to be honest. It was amazing to be involved in the last Lions tour to South Africa.”

Bowe adds, “You never know what will happen. For the moment I’m just concentrating on getting back on the field with Ulster with, hopefully, lots still to play for.”

The full interview with Tommy Bowe is featured in Club Rugby magazine (available free next Monday in the Irish Independent)

With Stephen Ferris out for a further three months and Rory Best suffering lineout jitters, Ulster’s Lions contingent may yet be confined to the attacking talents of Craig Gilroy.

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