Wilkinson, out since dislocating his knee last September, failed to make the 32-13 European Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat at Saracens and Falcons rugby director Steve Bates does not expect him to figure in their last two Guinness Premiership matches.

"We haven't been able to get him back to do a full week's training and that has to be the bare minimum before we think about putting him on the field. The difficulty is this Lions trip is going to be really hard and physical.

"If you are not absolutely on your game you are going to get exposed in South Africa. If I was the Lions coach I'd be very concerned about that lack of rugby. He's a class player and you've got to take that into consideration but the poor guy hasn't played since September."

Reports had suggested the No.9 was unsettled at the club and was seeking a return home to France but Cockerill, speaking after Dupuy sealed the Tigers' Heineken Cup victory over Bath, said, "He's under contract, though his girlfriend (who lives in France) is a bit unsettled," said Cockerill. "We've had talks and he'll be here next year."

"We will make it as easy as possible for him to come and go back to France but he will be here for next season."

"Nick tweaked his knee halfway through the first half. At half-time he said it was sore," said Quins boss Dean Richards. "We gave him 10 minutes then he came off. Putting Nick back on after Chris had pulled his hamstring was the last throw of the dice. I was reluctant to do it but decided we had to. Nick will be out for two to three weeks now."

The defeat of title rivals Exeter at the hands of Rotherham on Saturday handed Leeds the title and an immediate return to the top flight following their relegation last season.

Baxter, who has been sidelined for the last three weeks, hopes to make his comeback from a calf injury while Tahu is set to get the nod at outside centre with centre Rob Horne to miss two to three weeks with a hamstring strain.

"I'm staying, I'm going to see out the rest of my contract here. I was contracted to 2010 anyway so I'm really pleased that's the case and looking forward to next season," he told the Hillingdon Times. "There was a lot of confusion at the beginning. A lot of that was down to some rumours flying around and chinese whispers. Things got interpreted a little differently than they were. I'm sure over a period of time everything will become a lot clearer and you will see everything get resolved shortly.

Elsewhere, Charlotte has pushed their way up to fifth spot in the Blue Conference with a scrappy, but important, 17-14 win over Potomac Athletic Club.