Jonny Wilkinson is unlikely to get a chance to prove his fitness for this year's Lions tour to South Africa after Newcastle's rugby director Steve Bates said the fly-half may not play again this season.

Wilkinson has been sidelined since dislocating his knee last September and failed to make Newcastle's 32-13 European Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat at Saracens this weekend.

Bates does not expect Wilkinson to figure in Newcastle's last two Premiership matches either, leaving the England star with no opportunity to show he is ready for the exertions of a Lions tour.

"We're still working hard to try and rehabilitate that knee and make sure that things are progressing but time is running out for him to get back on the field," Bates said.

"We haven't been able to get him back to do a full week's training and that has to be the bare minimum before we think about putting him on the field.

"The difficulty is this Lions trip is going to be really hard and physical.

"If you are not absolutely on your game you are going to get exposed in South Africa.

"We've got two more games this season and there's no guarantee he will play in either.

"If I was the Lions coach I'd be very concerned about that lack of rugby. He's a class player and you've got to take that into consideration but the poor guy hasn't played since September.

"It would be tough then to ask him to go and play against the South Africans in full flow."

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