BACK FROM THE BRINK

Gibson-Park beats his injury fears to link up with Russell

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JAMISON GIBSON-PARK feared his Lions tour was over before it started but is now ready to partner Finn Russell in a dream-team combination.

Ireland scrum-half Gibson-Park and Scotland’s charismatic No.10 Russell start together for the first time when the tourists face Queensland Reds in Brisbane tomorrow.

Gibson-Park missed Leinster’s URC final win with a glute injury, has been sidelined for three weeks and was given the thumbs-up to play only last weekend.

But the 33-year-old was fretting he would miss the tour and relied on wife Patti, a former international judo star, to get him through the dark times.

He said: “It was dicey enough for a few days. I had to get a number of scans to clear up what was going on.

“I was gutted to miss the URC final — it was a pretty tough hit to take when you've stayed fit then miss the biggest game of the year.