The 32-year-old was expected to miss the entire championship after going under the knife last month but he has come through a brutal rehabilitation process unscathed.

He has not played since January, making his match fitness a real concern, and he revealed he would not fancy an early introduction tomorrow should the worst happen to Jason White or Jim Hamilton.

“Two months ago was the last time I played but obviously I think I’m as fit as I can be without having to play games,” Hines said.

“If Jim goes down or Jason goes down after three minutes then it could be a hard day for me but I think it’s going to be hard whether I play 20 minutes or 65.”

Hines worked his way back to fitness alongside Hamilton, who missed the Italy game two weeks ago with a shoulder problem.

Hamilton revealed earlier this week how the pair had indulged in a sumo-style training session last Friday, which saw them smash their 18-stone-plus frames into each other as hard as they could to ensure they were completely over their injuries.

The Edinburgh lock hinted he had come out on top, but Hines was having none of it, saying: “He lied, he lied!

“We ended up with a 10 by 10 square, then a five by five, then a three by three, then a two by two, and you had to score.

“I was quicker, but when it got down to the close quarters, and he got me, he got me! But there were no winners or losers.

“It was tackle or be tackled and if we hadn’t come through that, we wouldn’t have gone through to Monday, to scrummaging and line-outs.

“You really have to test it there and then. You don’t want to go into a game not confident enough that you’re going to be able to take a knock.”

He added with a smile: “I’ve done a lot more training than Jim Hamilton, I have to say.

“I was in before the guys and out after the guys. It was non-stop.

“I got probably half an hour to eat and then more rehab drills and weights and running – when I could run – so it’s tough mentally and physically.”

Still, going through the pain beat the early days of his recovery.

“The worst time’s when you’re sitting in the hospital bed after an operation,” he explained.

“You don’t think you’re going to get back in time.”

Hines’ frustration at being injured was compounded by Scotland’s poor start to the Six Nations, which saw them thumped by Wales and beaten in France before finally getting off the mark against Italy.

He said: “In the autumn, we went really well against New Zealand and South Africa especially, but the first game in the Six Nations, I was a little bit deflated.

“I was here and it’s not good to watch a game, especially when players aren’t performing in the way that they’d like.”

Hines added of tomorrow’s game against Grand-Slam chasing Ireland: “This is going to be the barometer of what’s happening in the championship for us.

“They’re in good form as well, consistently performing in every match.

“They’ve got an exceptional line-out. These guys are the driving force in the team, along with Ronan O’Gara, so we’re going to have to contain them and that’s probably going to be the hardest job.

“They’ll be coming all guns blazing, and our aim’s just to win, whether they’re playing for a Grand Slam or not.”