Elliot Daly will undergo an X-ray after sustaining an arm injury in the British and Irish Lions win over Queensland Reds.
The Saracens utility back was forced off in the second half of the Lions‘ 54-12 victory in Brisbane, having been a late stand-in for Hugo Keenan at full-back, who missed the clash through illness.
A last-minute change to the starting XV did certainly didn’t affect the Lions, who recovered after conceding first against Queensland to record a resounding win.
Tommy Freeman, Andrew Porter and Duhan van der Merwe all crossed the line for Andy Farrell‘s side in an entertaining first half.
And the Lions’ strength in depth gradually shone through, as tries from Maro Itoje, Jac Morgan, Huw Jones and Garry Ringrose, and another from Freeman, helped to round things off
But victory came at a price, as Daly became their second injury concern in as many matches after Tomos Williams’ campaign was brought to an early end with a torn hamstring in the Lions’ win over Western Force on Saturday,
The Englishman left the field just after the hour mark after taking a heavy blow to the arm from opposite number, Jock Campbell.
After receiving treatment on the pitch, the 32-year-old tried to continue, but was ultimately unable to do so.
He was later seen with heavy strapping and ice on his affected arm once taking to his seat on the bench, and wore a pained expression on his face as his side stormed to a huge win.
And Lions head coach Farrell has since shared a worrying update on the versatile star, as he revealed Daly’s injury will require further attention.
On Daly, Farrell told Sky Sports: "He's pretty sore in there.
"We'll get him an X-ray. It looks like he's took a knock to his forearm, so fingers crossed for him."
The Lions will have their fingers crossed that Daly’s injury is not as serious as first feared, who has impressed on tour so far.
Despite appearing a surprise inclusion in Farrell’s to some, the veteran star has more than justified his selection since, putting in two strong displays in the Lions’ opening two games against Argentina and the Western Force.
Daly’s start against Queensland saw him keep up his remarkable run of featuring in the Lions’ last 11 matches, dating back to the opening game of their 2021 tour of South Africa.
This is testament to his remarkable durability, having missed out on a match-day squad just four times in 22 games of his three-tour Lions career.
A rare injury to Daly prompted Farrell to use the end of the game to explore his side’s backline options, moving wing Tommy Freeman to full-back, while Garry Ringrose and Ben Early featured out wide and at inside centre respectively.
And though his side emerged comfortable victors, the Lions boss admitted his side must improve on their slow starts as they head into their next match against the New South Wales Waratahs on Saturday.
Reflecting on the display, Farrell said: "It was a bit of everything.
“I don't think it was flowing from us, it was a little stop-start at times, but when we are on I thought we played some really good stuff.
"It was a bit of a slow start. The Reds came out of the blocks really aggressively and dominated the first 10-15 minutes, but that's good for us, and we settled down pretty well and played some good stuff.
“When the game was won, the continuity of our game wasn't quite what we wanted it to be.”
Despite this, he remained optimistic, adding: “May the competition continue.
“We'll enjoy the win, celebrate that, and then we've got a three-day turnaround. That's Lions tours for you, it's brilliant, isn't it?"
