British and Irish Lions

Warburton was forced out of Cardiff Blue's 34-33 Heineken Cup defeat at the Salford City Stadium after dislocating his finger with just six minutes gone.

The influential openside, who is one of the favourites to skipper the Lions next summer, was taken to hospital to have his finger put back in place and to undergo x-rays to assess the damage.

But rather than complain about his pain or misfortune, Warburton tweeted two pics of his injury - both of which were unsuitable for the squeamish!

The images showed the 24-year-old's misshapen finger before and during the x-ray, with Warburton tweeting, "Finger is finally sorted, won't be signing autographs for a while!" as he left hospital.

"Suddenly dawned on me I may have fingers like Martyn Williams by the time I finish playing!"

And while the injury looks particularly uncomfortable, both Warburton and his club coach Phil Davies are confident will be back in action in a hurry.

"Hopefully he will be back available for next weekend's game against Toulon," added Davies.

Rob Howley says having George North available for selection is a major plus for the British & Irish Lions as they go in search of the tries he believes will be needed to beat the Qantas Wallabies this Saturday.

Michael Hooper believes the British & Irish Lions' defeat to the Brumbies has given the Qantas Wallabies a boost ahead of Saturday's first Test in Brisbane.

Less than 24 hours after losing their unbeaten record in Canberra, the British & Irish Lions were given a huge boost on arrival in Brisbane when Wales wing George North was declared fit to play in the first Test on Saturday.