Luke Thompson is refusing to give up on his dream of returning to the Great Britain line-up.
The St Helens prop - rated one of the best front rowers in the world - is struggling with a fractured rib cartilage.
Lions coach Wayne Bennett initially said he would play no further part in the tour after he suffered the injury 12 minutes into his Lions debut in the 14-6 defeat by Tonga.
But he defied the prediction to stay in contention last week - only for Bennett to write his chances off again after the 12-8 loss to New Zealand on Saturday.
But Thompson is determined to fight his way back with two games of the tour Down Under remaining.
He said: “I was super proud to put the shirt on and gutted to get injured but we will have to see how it goes.”
Thompson has played with the same injury in the past, with the help of a pain killing injection. But he said: “The problem with this one is it keeps popping in and out and that’s really painful.
“It can pop out twice a day and it usually happens when I laugh, but I haven’t stopped laughing being around these guys.
“I am not sure if I’ll be able to play but I have been doing some jogging, bike work and trying to keep my core active so that when it sets I’ll be alright.”
The Lions missed Thompson in the defeat to the Kiwis in Auckland, with the team only coming to life in the final quarter. By then they were 12-2 down to tries from Jamayne Isaako and Corey Harawira-Naera.
Hooker Daryl Clark pulled a try back and, if the match had gone on a further five minutes, Britain may have won. But Clark, who made his Lions debut off the bench, said it’s important that the team wise up ahead of Saturday’s return clash in Christchurch.
He said: "I think we could have tested them a bit more early on and we were probably a bit reserved.
“We will learn from that and play more like we did in the second half when we threw a bit at them. Hopefully that way we will get a result.”
Bennett has not taken up the option of flying out a replacement player, following injuries to Oliver Gildart and Ryan Hall.
Gildart flies home for shoulder surgery on Wednesday and Hall is facing a race to be fit after dislocating his knee against the Kiwis.
But Bennett prefers to use current squad players out of position rather than expect someone to fly over and fit straight into the team.
