The British & Irish Lions could be without Mack Hansen for the first Test against Australia after the Ireland wing suffered a foot injury.
It is not the only headache for coach Andy Farrell, with Blair Kinghorn also a doubt for the Brisbane showdown, with the Wallabies looking to strike first in the colossal series.
Hansen picked up the issue in last Saturday’s 48-0 thrashing of an AUNZ Invitational XV and sat out the first training session of the week on Tuesday.
The Ireland wing could take up a bench role at Suncorp Stadium, to cover the back three, but it may take a leap of faith from Farrell with few chances to prove his fitness between now and Saturday.
Kinghorn, viewed as first-choice full-back, also appears to be losing his battle with the knee injury sustained against ACT Brumbies on July 9 after it was confirmed he will not be able to train until Wednesday at the earliest.
Neither player has been ruled out at this stage, but attack coach Richard Wigglesworth has revealed the Lions have already picked their team for the series opener – subject to any late changes – with the players due to be told on Wednesday.
“Mack hurt his foot in the game. I don’t think it’s anything serious but he was managed today (Tuesday),” Wigglesworth said.
“Hopefully he will be fully integrated pretty quickly. It’s nothing that we are overly concerned about. We’ll know a bit more tomorrow.
“We’ll have to see tomorrow what Blair looks like. He hasn’t trained fully with the squad but he’s been on his feet so we’ll know a bit more in the next 24 hours whether we can get him on the field.”
Andy Farrell will announce his team to the public on Thursday with the identity of the flankers and inside centre the key talking points in the starting XV.
Tadhg Beirne and Ollie Chessum appear to be locked in a shootout for the number six jersey with the England back row’s better form on tour potentially giving him the edge over a rival who has captained the midweek team twice.
Tom Curry, Josh van der Flier and Jac Morgan could all be chosen at openside – the most competitive position in the team – with compelling arguments provided for each of them to start against the Wallabies.
Another option would be to field Curry on the blindside and deploy either van der Flier or Morgan at seven, resulting in Beirne or Chessum joining Maro Itoje in the second row rather than current favourite Joe McCarthy.
Garry Ringrose’s 12-day stand down for concussion has made the in-form Huw Jones a certainty at outside centre, but the repercussions are felt at inside centre where Farrell must choose between Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu.
Aki has provided the greatest punch in midfield so far on tour, but Tuipulotu has developed a deep understanding with Scotland team-mates Jones and Finn Russell, who is a certainty to feature at fly-half.
Owen Farrell and Marcus Smith have been pushing hard for inclusion on the bench.
“We have got such quality across all positions so we would be lying if we said selection was easy,” Wigglesworth said.
“The selection meeting was conversational as it has been the whole way through the tour. Everyone is able to voice an opinion and is willing to be challenged. Then we come to a decision.”
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