Wilkinson was carried off during his comeback appearance for Newcastle against Premiership opponents Harlequins on Sunday.

The Falcons have confirmed the England skipper has suffered another medial ligament problem with his left knee, having been sidelined for nine weeks after suffering a similar injury during a European Cup defeat in Perpignan.

However, after a scan , Wilkinson revealed: The initial reports show that it is not as bad as I had feared.

And although admitting he faces a race against time to make Sir Clive Woodward's squad, Wilkinson is keeping his fingers crossed.

In his column in The Times, Wilkinson writes: I'm obviously hoping that it's not as bad as last time. I know I haven't been in as much pain or discomfort.

What I'm hoping is that I'll be able to get moving again quickly. It could even be that this is something to do with the scarring from the previous injury.

The best result, it seems, is that I can try to pick up my rehab from halfway through where it was before and then move towards not missing too many more games. Last time I took nine weeks.

I know the doubts over the Lions tour escalate. Sir Clive Woodward announces his squad on April 11, so I've just got to dig my heels in and maybe if I can be fit around that time, maybe I can still have a shout.

I've got to make sure that if I stand a chance of making the tour, that I'm ready to take it.