Luger will be sidelined for at least six weeks while he recovers from a fractured cheekbone, following Mike Catt, Phil Greening and Simon Taylor out of the Lions’ 10-match tour Down Under.

Irish international Tyrone Howe is already on the way to replace him, joining Scott Gibbs, Gordon Bulloch and Martin Corry in answering a Lions SOS.

Luger, who had scored four tries from two tour appearances, must wonder whether his luck will ever change.

Arguably the most lethal finisher in European rugby, he has recovered from repeated injury setbacks, only to be laid low just at the wrong time.

He failed to finish England’s tour of South Africa last summer, then lasted less than 20 minutes of their Six Nations Championship campaign when he came off second-best in a collision with Gibbs at the Millennium Stadium.

Luger, whose pedigree is underlined through 13 tries from 20 Tests, took almost three months to recover from that neck/shoulder problem before confirming his fitness for the Lions trip.

Now, overwhelmed by a shocking sense of deja vu, he is back on the sidelines, denied a certain Lions Test team spot and a possible place in rugby folklore.

‘‘It is going to take a while to sink in. When I realise that I am no longer involved, then that is when it will hit home,’’ he said.

‘‘I haven’t really had time to think about it, but it is one of the worst things that has ever happened to me.’’

Luger’s departure leaves Lions coach Graham Henry facing a wing selection conundrum.

He could draft in Test rookie Jason Robinson, the out-of-form Ben Cohen or Howe, but must now also consider switching Iain Balshaw from full-back and fielding Matt Perry as his number 15, with Dafydd James filling the other wing slot.

But should Henry opt for former rugby league star Robinson, then Luger has no doubts that he will be up to the job.

‘‘Jason is ready for it,’’ Luger said. ‘‘If he is selected, then I am sure that he will cause them (the Wallabies) more trouble than they will cause him.’’

Lions manager Donal Lenihan admitted that Luger’s loss was ‘‘a huge blow’’ for the squad, especially coming less than 48 hours after Catt was told his tour had ended.

Of the four players who made early exits, three of them Luger, Catt and Greening were hurt in training.

‘‘Dan’s injury was caused by a clash of heads, while Phil Greening was injured in a one-on-one tackle. They were freak accidents,’’ Lenihan said.

Lions assistant coach Andy Robinson added: ‘‘There is not a lot you can say to Dan at this stage. He has been injured before and always bounced back.

‘‘Hopefully, that will now be it in terms of injuries for the rest of his career.’’

Lenihan though, had no qualms about sending for 30-year-old Ulster and Dungannon wing Howe, whose Test career comprises just six caps.

‘‘He is a guy who was consistently mentioned by our tour selection advisers. They were hugely impressed with his work-rate, and he was always on stand-by.’’

Howe, together with Gibbs, is likely to start when the Lions tackle New South Wales Country in Coffs Harbour next Tuesday, the tourists’ last game before locking horns with Australia.

Gibbs, a shock omission from the original 37-man squad, linked up with the Lions in Manly tonight, starting his third tour after starring in New Zealand (1993) and South Africa four years ago, making a total of five Test appearances.

‘‘I have been ticking over in terms of training, although it is difficult to replicate what the guys have been doing out here,’’ he said.

‘‘A lot of my friends said they had a feeling I would come out on the tour, but I didn’t think it would happen.

‘‘It only became evident to me over the weekend when the press were reporting it as Mike’s last chance. When the call came around midnight on Wednesday, I was in bed.’’