Howley is playing through the pain barrier as he leads his side towards a prestigious Heineken Cup-Zurich Premiership double, but faces the surgeons on June 23.
The 59-cap veteran needs surgery on his right wrist to keep alive his dreams of going on a third British and Irish Lions tour next year. The operation will put him on the sidelines for up to four months.
‘I’ve broken the scaphoid bone,’ Howley confirmed yesterday, referring to a small bone that acts like a ball bearing in the wrist joint.
‘I’ve got a date for June 23, and if things go well with the rehab and suchlike, I should be back playing by the middle of October or the beginning of November.
‘The doctors tell me I’m not risking further damage by playing these next two games.’
Wasps play Toulouse in the Heineken Cup final at Twickenham on Sunday, and Bath in the Zurich Premiership final at the same venue the following Saturday.
