"Normally they fuse the bones together, but for this they replace the disc in between the vertebrae with a metallic synthetic disc. It's a big operation because it's working on the spine, involving the spinal chord and the nervous system, but I was pretty much able to walk out of the hospital the next day, so it wasn't actually that bad.

"They've done the operation for a while in every day people, but for sportsmen they only have 18 months of research in Australia, so it's a bit of a pioneering exercise for British sports people I suppose you could say. In every day life you don't find yourself under the stresses and pressures of a rugby pitch."

Falcons team doctor, Graeme Wilkes, said: "The surgeons at Nuffield in Jesmond have really done an excellent job with Phil's operation, which went without a hitch, and the big bonus is that the rehab period from this is significantly less than if it had been fused, as tends to be the normal procedure with these sorts of injuries."

With a lump of metal now sitting in his neck, Dowson joked: "Everyone keeps asking me if I'll beep whenever I go through the metal detector at the airport for the rest of my life. I haven't tested it yet, but I hope not!"

Revealing more about the medical procedure, he said: "It was done by a surgeon called Chris Gerber, and he was awesome throughout the whole time. My sister was there with me in the hospital, and he talked us both through everything. The hospital is near my house, so I just walked there in the morning, had the operation and then walked home the next day without any problems."

Any neck injury, especially in a contact sport such as rugby, is a serious matter, and it was in the home defeat to Bristol that Dowson suffered his.

"They don't know if it was an accumulation of knocks or just one hit that caused it, but it came to bear when we played Bristol at home back in mid September," said Dowson, who was making his 63rd competitive appearance for the club at the time.

"I was over the ball trying to steal it on the floor, and one of their guys just cleaned me out and caught me on the neck. There was nothing wrong or illegal with the challenge, but I just felt a massive electric shock down both of my arms.

"I collapsed and fell over, then when I got up I had really bad pins and needles all the way down from my shoulder. I went for a scan and it showed that I had a big bulge in the disc, which was interfering with the spinal chord. It wasn't so much the actual pain, but it was more the pins and needles in my arms and hands that was worrying because it felt really strange more than anything else."

Despite feeling down and out after such an injury, Dowson was soon given a serious reality check when long time team-mate and friend Ian Peel suffered a similar injury in training the same week, which had even more dire consequences.

"I came back from Nuffield on the Monday after having my scan, and when I got to Kingston Park Peely was sat in the changing room after taking a hit in training," said Dowson.

"That hit has ultimately ended his career, and even then, straight after it had happened, he had a feeling it was a really bad one.

"He went to see the same surgeon who had done my operation at Nuffield, but unfortunately there was nothing they could do in terms of getting him back playing again."

Explaining the differences between his own problem and that of Peel, he said: "His injury was a lot higher up, on the ligament at the top of the spine which attaches it to the skull, in very simple terms. He's actually in hospital at the moment because he's had the skull fused to the top of his spine, because the spine was basically moving about.

"It really put it in to sharp perspective for myself, because like everyone else at the club I was absolutely devastated for Peely to have to retire when he was in his prime, and when it obviously meant so much for him to play for the Falcons.

"After his scan I rang him to see how he was, knowing that I was in a similar boat with a neck injury, and when he told me how bad it was I went straight round to see him. It's a lot to take in for anyone."

While Peel sadly cannot take to the field, for Dowson the news has thankfully been positive.

"When I originally suffered the injury they said it would be around six months out, which basically wrote the whole season off," he said.

"But after this operation to insert the metallic disc they're now looking at about three or four months, so at the moment I'm pencilling in the beginning of February for a return, although obviously we will take it week by week and not rush if it isn't 100 per cent."

As for the path back to playing, Dowson revealed: "At the moment I'm just building it up slowly, and I've been with our physio Marten Brewer this week doing cardio and some bike work.

"There's nothing high impact at this stage, and I'll build up doing weights in the coming months before eventually running round on the field and finally taking some hits before returning to playing."

But his time on the sidelines is far from wasted, with a budding radio career in the offing.

"I've been doing the summarising on BBC Radio Newcastle, which has been a great laugh with Kevin Williams and Ian Smith, who are both excellent commentators and a lot of fun to work with," he said.

"Watching the games from the other side of the fence was always going to be frustrating, but you just have to look at it and ask how can I make the most out of this situation?

"The media side of things has always been something I've been interested in, so I went to Smithy, the club's press man, and asked if he had any ideas.. He contacted Kevin Williams, who all the players know well from his commentaries anyway, and Kevin has been really accommodating in letting me come along and have a go on the air.

"It's difficult watching with a microphone in your hand when you really want to be out there on the pitch, but I've commentated on the games against Sale, Brive and Borders so far - three wins from three I might add.

"The night I was in hospital having my operation was actually the evening of the Falcons' game at Leicester, so I listened to the commentary on BBC Radio Newcastle from my bed without the TV pictures, and it really seemed to bring it to life, which I suppose is what it's all about."