Don’t get your hopes up; it appears as if the O’Driscoll return rumours are false

The prospect of Brian O’Driscoll making a sensational return to the Lions squad sparked great excitement on Twitter overnight, but it appears as if the rumours are just rumours after all.

In case you were living under 20 rocks for the last few days, you’d know that O’Driscoll was axed from the Lions squad for the final test against the Wallabies tomorrow, but rumours from Australia that spread on Twitter overnight suggested that he could make a return to the bench because of an injury picked by English centre Manu Tuilagi. Twitter is a questionable source to rely on at the best of times but Today FM’s Matt Cooper was one of a number of people who caught wind of the rumour overnight, while Conor George of the Irish Independent also suggested that it had been gathering pace on the other side of the world.

Rumour on twitter out of Australia that tuliagi is injured & to be replaced on bench for lions by Brian O'Driscoll. No confirmation. Rumour.

— Matt Cooper (@cooper_m) July 4, 2013

Now being told rumour is a deliberate fake...which is why I stressed "unconfirmed". But so are messages that it's a fake....so?

— Matt Cooper (@cooper_m) July 4, 2013

Rumour if Driscoll on bench still gathering momentum here. I reiterate...was categorically told by media manager NO TRUTH in it.

— Conor George (@conoreligeorge) July 4, 2013

At a press conference earlier today, however, Graham Rowntree confirmed that all 23 of the selected players for tomorrow’s game were fit, including Tuilagi, so unless there’s something going on behind the scenes that nobody else apart from those within the Lions camp know about, O’Driscoll will have to settle for watching the game in his suit after all. Damn. And we were all excited there for a minute.