British and Irish Lions have ‘no real concerns’ over troublesome position despite ‘near-catastrophe’
John Dalziel has addressed injury concerns in the Lions squad.
British and Irish Lions assistant coach John Dalziel has addressed injury concerns at tighthead prop ahead of the tour to Australia.
This comes after Scotland prop Zander Fagerson withdrew from the squad as he struggles to recover from an injury, while Irish forward Tadhg Furlong has missed a large chunk of Leinster’s season with a calf strain.
Finlay Bealham has been called into the squad to fill Fagerson’s void as the team begins preparations in Portugal ahead of the clash against Argentina in Dublin.
Tadhg Furlong injury
England and Sale Sharks forward Asher Opoku-Fordjour has also been called up to train with the side as has hooker Jamie George with the Lions short on options with Ronan Kelleher and Dan Sheehan involved in the United Rugby Championship final.
While only 24 players were available to train this week due to Bath, Leicester Tigers, Leinster and Toulouse featuring for their respective clubs, Dalziel is adamant that finalists could still turn out against Los Pumas in Dublin.
He also attempted to allay fears that Furlong would not recover in time for the tour due to a calf injury.
“Tadhg has the availability to be able to train and play this week with Leinster,” he told reporters in Portugal.
“There are no real concerns in terms of his ability to come back to full training. Tadhg had returned to play and was playing.
“He’s now being modified in terms of [being] off-feet in the last few weeks. We’ve got no real concerns [around] when he comes back to full training and playing.”
“We will put our best team and our best foot forward for Argentina, with everybody available, the squad will be together on Sunday, everybody in after the finals, then we will select and prepare that team that week.
“We will get some structures in place here, some language and some learning with the wider group, then we will arrive back in Dublin on Sunday with everyone and prepare for Argentina.”
Zander Fagerson’s hopes
While it looks as though Fagerson’s dream of featuring on a second Lions tour are crushed, Dalziel confirmed that the Scottish front-rower could link up with the squad at a later date if needed.
The front-rower’s setback was described by prominent journalist Stephen Jones as a ‘near-catastrophe’ but his hopes of featuring on the tour are not dead over yet.
“He’ll become available at the right time and when he’s ready should we need him again. His injury isn’t long-term,” he said.
“I think it’s three or four weeks. It’s a setback. He’s looking to try and get through that.
“As soon as he gets the tick off, he’ll be available to come back into the squad should needs must.”
Meanwhile, Argentina boss Felipe Contepomi has named his 32-man Argentina squad to tackle the Lions for the first time since he did so as a player 20 years ago.
The Pumas will also be without several top players who are involved in the Top 14 play-offs while other stars have been omitted due to injury and rest.
