Elliot Daly left the stadium in a sling as he handed the Lions a huge injury scare after being taken off with an arm injury after 67 minutes of the tourists’ 52-12 win over the Reds. The full-back, on his third tour, was rushed to a Brisbane hospital for a scan amid fears his trip could be over and the Lions could be missing a key member of their squad for the Tests.
Hugo Keenan pulled out of yesterday’s game with illness, meaning he has not played a game on the trip yet, and the other specialised 15 in the squad, Blair Kinghorn, only arrive in Australia on Monday after playing in the Top 14 final with Toulouse. Daly stepped in at full-back for an 11th straight match 23 involvement with the Lions stretching back to the last tour to South Africa in 2021 and his absence would leave a huge hole.
Boss Andy Farrell said: “He has got a bang on the forearm and he is going for an X-ray so we have all got our fingers crossed for him. He has been back to his good old self.
“We have seen him do that on these tours before. He loves touring, he is a people person. I phoned him up today, he had just come out of the gym, and I said ‘how was the session?’ He said ‘good and I trained hard’.
“I told him ‘well done, you have won the golden ticket and are playing this evening’. He was not fazed at all and that is kind of character you need on these tours.”
Captain Maro Itoje added: “He seems to be in an alright mental space. I guess we just have to see what the scan says. He is a class team-mate, a class player.
“He is one of those effortlessly talented people. I am pretty sure he could have been a cricketer, I am pretty sure he could have been a golfer but I am not sure about football.”
The Lions head to Sydney on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Waratahs and Ireland’s Keenan should be good to go.
“He woke up and had his breakfast and it all came up. A couple of days will sort that out,” said Farrell.