Lions worry with Warburton set for scan

Lions captaincy favourite Sam Warburton sustained an injury to the knee in the Cardiff Blues’ 24-24 draw at Ulster, 11 days before Warren Gatland names his British and Irish Lions squad.

Warburton was substituted just before the break and seemed in a fair bit of discomfort, having scored a try earlier in the game.

Word from the Blues camp is that it was just a precautionary measure and that they are fairly confident it is nothing too serious, adding that their talisman would undergo a scan to determine the extent of the injury, according to the BBC.

“He had a bang to his knee. We’ll get a scan and have him assessed as soon as possible,” Blues head coach Danny Wilson said.

The flanker’s Blues team-mates George Earle, Taufa’ao Filise and Blaine Scully also hobbled off at the Kingspan Stadium because of injuries in the first half against the Belfast-based side.

Wilson added: “The others [injuries] are bangs that will take further assessment before we know what they are.”

Meanwhile, Gatland will be sweating over the fitness of the man who is clear favourite to captain the side for the second successive tour.

Having had a highly impressive Six Nations, the 28-year-old is the frontrunner to regain the armband, especially after the injury to Wales teammate Alun-Wyn Jones, who himself was a strong contender for the captaincy.

The highly-anticipated announcement of the British and Irish Lions squad will take place on April 19.