Ireland star Tommy Bowe insists he is still hopeful of making a sensational return from injury in time for next year’s RBS 6 Nations.
The 31-year-old Ulsterman was stretchered off in Ireland’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to Argentina, and initially ruled out for up to six months having damaged his cruciate ligament.
But despite having to go under the knife the winger admits the injury was not as bad as originally feared.
And Bowe believes he has a realistic chance of joining up with Joe Schmidt’s side ahead of the 2016 RBS 6 Nations, as the men in green look to win the Championship for a third time running.
“I’m on the road to recovery at the minute,” he told RTÉ. “The operation was done over four weeks ago.
“I just have to rest and recuperate for a couple of months and I’ll hopefully get myself back onto the pitch some time soon in the new year.
“I had a chat with Joe. He’s aware of my situation and he’s aware that I’m going to do my best to get myself back into reasonable shape for whatever competitions are available – whether that’s the RBS 6 Nations or the summer tour, who knows?
“At the time I thought it was quite serious. Thankfully it wasn’t as bad as it could have been – it could have been a lot worse. I’m very positive, it’s feeling good and strong.
“I’ll have a brace on it until January. It’s a pain in the neck. But if things are looking good then there might be a chance to come out of it then.
“It drives me mad, I hate it. You want to be out there, you want to be a part of it. Through the good wins you want to be in the changing room to celebrate and with the bad losses you think you could have made a difference. That’s always difficult.”
Click here for the 2016 RBS 6 Nations schedule
