Scotland prop Zander Fagerson has been ruled out of the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia, with Ireland’s Finlay Bealham replacing the tighthead in Andy Farrell’s squad.
Fagerson has been struggling with a calf issue and missed Glasgow’s United Rugby Championship semi-final defeat to Leinster this weekend, and will now miss out on a second trip with the quadrennial tourists.
Bealham joins international teammate Tadhg Furlong, also dealing with a calf injury currently, and England’s Will Stuart as tighthead options available to head coach Farrell as the Lions prepare to begin their itinerary against Argentina in Dublin on Friday 20 June.
With Furlong and Stuart preparing for the URC and Premiership finals with Leinster and Bath respectively, Sale and England youngster Asher Opoku-Fordjour will join up with the Lions squad at a training camp in Portugal this week.
Hooker Jamie George, who narrowly missed out on selection, will also travel to Quinta do Lago with Ronan Kelleher and Dan Sheehan occupied with Leinster’s preparations for a meeting with the Bulls at Croke Park on Saturday.
“It’s tough on Zander to miss out so close to the Tour, but now Finlay gets an opportunity to come in and add to the group,” Farrell said. “This is unfortunately part and parcel of the game, so we always have to be prepared for that.
“But it’s great to finally be at the stage where we can get onto the training ground and get to work with these players. Portugal will be really important for us as we look to get our house in order with only a few training sessions before we take on Argentina in the 1888 Cup in Dublin.”
While the URC and Premiership finalists have not been ruled out of the clash with the Pumas at the Aviva Stadium, the turnaround is tight with just six days between the showpiece occasions and the opening fixture of the Lions’ summer. It may be, then, that either George or Opoku-Fordjour are yet retained to feature in the game.
England centurion George toured in 2017 and 2021, while for Opoku-Fordjour, 20, this will be a first taste of Lions involvement.
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Bealham, meanwhile, is set to return to Australia, with the Canberra-born prop impressing since making his Ireland debut in 2016. He started every game of the Six Nations.
