The British and Irish Lions have already faced injury setbacks, with Zander Fagerson and Tomos Williams ruled out of the squad.
Elliot Daly is set to undergo an X-ray following a forearm injury sustained during the second half of the British and Irish Lions’ victory over the Queensland Reds.
The versatile 32-year-old recently made his first Test start at full-back for England in four years during their Six Nations win against Italy in March. His strong performances on the current tour had positioned him as a frontrunner for the number 15 jersey, ahead of competitors such as Hugo Keenan, Blair Kinghorn, and Marcus Smith.
Daly was a late addition to the starting XV against the Reds after Keenan, initially selected to start after recovering from a calf strain, fell ill.
“We’ll see,” commented Lions head coach Andy Farrell on Daly’s prospects, with the first Test match just over three weeks away.
“He has a knock on the forearm and will have an X-ray this evening, so we are all hopeful for good news.”
Daly has started both tour matches in Australia at full-back and also played in the position off the bench just before the hour mark in their defeat by Argentina in Dublin.
Keenan and Kinghorn, who recently played for Toulouse in the Top 14 final, are yet to feature for the Lions on this tour.
However, Farrell stated that he is not concerned, despite having only three more warm-up matches before the Lions face the Wallabies in their series opener in Brisbane on 19 July.
“We have plenty of full-backs,” he affirmed.
“Hugo will be fine tomorrow, or the next day, and Blair is ready to go.”
Smith, primarily a fly-half, has also played at full-back for England this season. Farrell highlighted his versatility as a key factor in his selection for the squad.
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Considered by some as an unexpected choice after only two starts for England in the past year, Farrell expressed that he is not surprised by Daly’s successful seizing of his opportunity on his third Lions tour.
“He’s been back to his best, hasn’t he?” said Farrell.
“We have seen him perform well on these tours before. He is certainly the type of character that enjoys touring – he is a people person.
“I called him up today; he had just left the gym after a tough session. He said he had trained hard, and I said, ‘Well done, you have won the golden ticket and are playing this evening.’
“He was not fazed at all. That is the type of character you need on the tour.”
Daly secured a crucial long-range penalty in the third-Test draw against the All Blacks in 2017.
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