STEPHEN FERRIS’S LIONS prospects are hanging by a thread after Ulster confirmed he is unlikely to play any more rugby this season.
The injured flanker went under the knife again yesterday for more surgery on the ankle problem that has sidelined him since last November.
In a short statement this evening Ulster said that Ferris will be out of action for a further three months, effectively ending any chance of him making a return in time for the latter stages of the Heineken Cup or RaboDirect Pro12.
Following this period he is expected to make “a full and complete return,” Ulster said.
Ferris’s last action came in early November when he limped off injured during Ulster’s Pro12 win at home to Edinburgh. With no game-time on the horizon barring a miraculous recovery, it would take a massive leap of faith for coach Warren Gatland to include him in the squad for the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia later this summer.
The Ulster statement read: “Ulster backrow forward, Stephen Ferris, was reviewed last week as part of his ongoing rehabilitation from an ankle injury that he sustained in November.
“At that review, it was discovered that although he had made excellent progress, some minor issues still remained. Those issues included function at the ankle continuing to cause pain.
“Having considered all specialist medical opinions given, Stephen underwent successful ankle surgery in Belfast yesterday, during which fragments of bone were removed.”
