Lions doctor James Robson has allayed fears that England World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson has suffered another career-threatening injury.

The Lions are limping into Saturday's Test series finale against New Zealand at Eden Park.

Wilkinson, Gavin Henson, Charlie Hodgson, Andrew Sheridan, Ollie Smith and Ben Kay have been ruled out of head coach Sir Clive Woodward's selection plans for the third Test.

And five other players - captain Gareth Thomas, Gethin Jenkins, Neil Back, Shane Horgan and Will Greenwood - are nursing various ailments, with Welsh prop Jenkins the biggest concern because of an ankle problem.

Woodward abandoned training plans on Wednesday, but he remains upbeat of fielding a powerful Test 22, which should include prop Graham Rowntree, who was cleared at a disciplinary hearing after being cited for punching during the 17-13 victory over Auckland.

Team selection has been delayed until Thursday, but Welsh international Stephen Jones looks set to replace Wilkinson, with Ronan O'Gara on the bench.

Fly-half Wilkinson's injury, another 'stinger' to his neck/shoulder area sustained during last Saturday's 48-18 second Test defeat, is the latest in a catalogue of setbacks since World Cup 2003.

He has only made three Test match appearances since then, and an initial neck and shoulder problem in early 2004 required surgery before causing an eight-month absence.

But Robson insists that if the Lions had another game next week, then he would be available for selection, which will be music to Wilkinson's ears and those of his Newcastle boss Rob Andrew.

"If you question all the tour members, it is amazing how many people have had a stinger. It is a bruising to some of the nerves coming out of the neck and going into the shoulder," said Robson.

"It can take anything between a few moments or many months (to recover from). Jonny has had well-documented problems, and the other day he got two bangs on the same piece of nerve.

"The first one cleared very quickly in a few seconds, and the second one was of sufficient concern to actually bring him out of that danger area.

"Since then, he has made fantastic progress, and if this tour had two weeks to run, then I would have no doubt he would be available for selection next week. Jonny will recover very quickly.

"Gavin Henson has a similar problem, but will not recover in the next week or so. He may be several weeks, and his is taking longer to recover, although one would expect him to make a full recovery.

"If Jonny had a lasting problem, we simply wouldn't be able to get him fit enough to actually play.

"I didn't want him to have a third bang on the same place, because I know that each time you hit the same place, the damage is going to last longer."

Woodward added: "This is an injury that has put him out for a week, and if we were playing next week then the medical advice coming through is that he would be available. That's how he plays the game, he just got another knock.

"I spoke to him today. He is disappointed he is not being considered for the weekend. He is close, but he's not close enough to be considered."

Hodgson, who could well have taken over from Wilkinson in the Test team, suffered concussion after taking a heavy knock during the Auckland game, while centre Smith (ribs), prop Sheridan (ankle) and lock Kay (eye) also will not be considered.

Back (throat infection), skipper Thomas (virus), centre Greenwood (shoulder) and utility back Horgan (hamstring) should all be available, but Robson admitted that Jenkins was a concern, suggesting Rowntree's disciplinary clearance could prove timely.

"If we have a good night tonight and we get all these players back in the morning, we should be able to train full-on tomorrow," said Woodward.

"As for Graham, I was obviously pleased that he was completely cleared of the incident he was cited for.

"It is the first time he has ever been cited, which clearly was a large factor in the outcome. He has got a totally unblemished record over a long period of playing rugby at the very top level in the front-row."

The Lions are 2-0 down with one Test left, and a defeat on Saturday would consign them to a worst sequence of Test results since touring New Zealand in 1983.

But Woodward remains defiant that the trip has been an overall success, despite losing emphatically to a rampant All Blacks outfit.

"I am bitterly disappointed about the Test matches, that was the key goal. Outside of that, everything I have put in place in terms of the coaching team, the management team and numbers (of players) has totally and utterly paid off," he said.

"From my point of view, I wouldn't change anything that has been put in place.

"The two Test matches were huge disappointments, especially when that was the number one priority why we came here.

"It was all planned to try and give the team the best chance of preparing to win those first two Test matches, and clearly, we got that part of it wrong."