Full-back’s injury may return later in series
Owen Farrell on bench against invitational XV
Blair Kinghorn is to miss the opening Test of the British & Irish Lions series against Australia but has not yet been ruled out of the entire tour. While scans have suggested Kinghorn’s knee ligament injury is not as serious as initially feared, the full-back is understood to be resigned to missing next week’s first Test in Brisbane and Ireland’s Jamie Osborne has been called up as cover.
The 23-year-old Osborne will arrive in Australia on Saturday and is the third injury replacement to link up with the squad. Ben White and Owen Farrell have already filled the gaps left by Tomos Williams and Elliot Daly respectively but the Lions management are being cagey about the precise details of Kinghorn’s injury, which he suffered during the first quarter of the 36-24 win over the Brumbies in Canberra on Wednesday.
Kinghorn had been widely tipped to start at 15 against the Wallabies but the spotlight now shifts to Hugo Keenan, who has been picked at full-back this Saturday in the last fixture prior to the Test series. Keenan, however, has played just once previously on this tour because of illness and the Lions management will be praying he comes through safely against a physical-looking Australia & New Zealand Invitational XV.
