Jonny Wilkinson has once again put his French club ahead of the British and Irish Lions after the former England flyhalf elected to have a groin operation that will sideline him for several weeks.

The 34-year-old, who kicked Toulon to the Heineken Cup and was named Euro player of the Year, had ruled himself out of the Lions squad due to club commitments but told coach Warren Gatland he would happily be on standby as an injury replacement for Jonny Sexton or Owen Farrell.

However, with the Lions’ first test against the Wallabies just two weeks away, Wilkinson told ESPN he needed the operation to get him ready for another marathon club season.

“I’d got to a stage where I wasn’t able to train anymore and was going from game to game and was suffering on the field because of that,” Wilkinson said.

“We’ve also just finished a 48-week season and now I’m looking forward to the other four weeks and trying to rest up so I can do it all again next season.”

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