The Ireland player had to be sent home from the tour of South Africa before the Test series after a training ground injury.

But 23-year-old Ferris is adamant that the injury will give him a chance to raise his standards for both province and country next season.

A knee ligament tear, sustained in training in Durban, ruled Ferris out after he had scored two tries in his first two games, winning man of the match against Cheetahs and making himself a front-runner for the Test XV.

"It's probably a four-week injury and I'd be really fighting to get fit for maybe the last Test match," Ferris said.

"It's just one of these things. It was just training. I was doing a bit of tackling and I twisted my knee.

"A couple of guys fell on me and I heard a small pop on the inside of my knee. It was my MCL and a grade two tear.

"As my mother's always told me, there's a silver lining to every cloud. You just kick on and look forward to a big season next year.

"I'll go back to Ulster now, get myself fitter, stronger and faster and come back a better player, I'm sure, next season."