NSFW: Very, very graphic images of Paddy Wallace’s thumb surgery

If you are in any way squeamish, we are warning you NOW not to look at the pictures below. On the other hand, if you get a kick out of what the inside of a thumb looks like, come this way.

Ulster and Ireland centre Paddy Wallace went in for thumb surgery earlier this week, a setback that is set to rule him out until Christmas.

Previously, we had looked on Paddy as the timid sort. He’s a versatile, mildly talented operator with a nice pair of hands, but he doesn't exactly go barnstorming through tackles, Sean O'Brien style, on the pitch.

We’ll be looking at him in a very different light after he posted these pictures on his Twitter account, which are an affront to the human eyes. In fact all we'll see when we catch a glimpse of Paddy in the future is what you are about to see for yourself, if you can tolerate it, in the images below.

A few hours back, Wallace tweeted: “WARNING!! Not for the squeamish guys. Surgeon sent me some pics from the op. Before."

And after

Don’t say we didn’t warn you.