Andy Farrell admitted to concern over an arm issue sustained by Elliot Daly in the British and Irish Lions’ 54-12 thrashing of the Queensland Reds as the tourists suffered another injury worry.
Daly was forced off during the second half of the victory in Brisbane after initially trying to continue having received treatment after missing a tackle.
The versatile English back was subsequently seen with heavy strapping and ice on his arm after taking his seat on the bench, grimacing even as his side pulled away from their hosts at Suncorp Stadium.
A tourist for the third time, Daly had impressed in the opening two games and had been called in late to start at full-back against the Reds after illness ruled out Hugo Keenan.
The Irishman is yet to feature having come into camp with an injury, while Blair Kinghorn is in line for his first appearance against the Waratahs in Sydney this weekend having joined up with the squad this week after winning the Top 14 title with Toulouse.
An injury to Daly would also reduce Farrell’s options in terms of versatility with the 32-year-old having previously started Lions Tests at outside centre and on the wing.
“He’s pretty sore in there,” head coach Farrell said to Sky Sports of Daly. “We’ll get him an X-ray. It looks like he’s took a knock to his forearm, so fingers crossed for him.”
The Lions finished the game by exploring their backline options, with the impressive Tommy Freeman moving to full-back after scoring two tries on the wing, Garry Ringrose brought on out wide and Ben Earl stationed at inside centre.
The England back row has featured in midfield occasionally over the last 12 months for his country and his capacity to cover centre could increase the chances of Farrell taking the option of naming six forwards and two backs on his bench come the Tests against the Wallabies.
While the final scoreline was large, it was a far from perfect showing by the tourists as the Reds begun the brighter in a sloppy first 20 minutes from Farrell’s side. Three slow starts in their opening games will be something the coach will be keen to correct with a quick turnaround to Saturday’s encounter with the Waratahs.
Farrell added of the performance: “It was a bit of everything. I don’t think it was flowing from us, it was a little stop-start at times, but when we are on I thought we played some really good stuff.
“It was a bit of a slow start. The Reds came out of the blocks really aggressively and dominated the first 10-15 minutes, but that’s good for us, and we settled down pretty well and played some good stuff. When the game was won, the continuity of our game wasn’t quite what we wanted it to be.
“This is where we are at now with the tour, the games are coming thick and fast and we are using those games to fast-track ourselves to the place we want to be. There are constant learnings there. Some lads today were desperate for another crack to get out there today. May the competition continue. We’ll enjoy the win, celebrate that, and then we’ve got a three-day turnaround. That’s Lions tours for you, it’s brilliant, isn’t it?”
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