Zander Fagerson, 25, was unable to train on Thursday at the squad's camp in Jersey and the injury denies him the chance to make his Lions debut at Murrayfield; Kyle Sinckler added to matchday squad against Brave Blossoms as a replacement
Thursday 24 June 2021 12:11, UK
Ireland prop Tadhg Furlong has come into the British & Irish Lions side to play Japan on Saturday after Scotland's Zander Fagerson was ruled out with a back spasm.
Fagerson, 25, was unable to train on Thursday at the squad's camp in Jersey and the injury denies him the chance to make his Lions debut at Murrayfield.
Furlong, who started every Test for the Lions against New Zealand in 2017, was originally named as a replacement for the warm-up game against the Brave Blossoms.
"It's a shame for Zander not to be able to run out at Murrayfield as a Lion, but he's not quite 100 per cent," said British & Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland.
"He'll get a chance to start in the next two games and stake a claim for a Test spot in South Africa, so it's not worth the risk."
Bristol Bears prop Kyle Sinckler, called up by the Lions as a replacement for the injured Andrew Porter earlier this month, is added to the bench to complete the matchday squad in Edinburgh.
British & Irish Lions: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Conor Murray, 1 Rory Sutherland, 2 Ken Owens, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 4 Iain Henderson, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 6 Tadhg Beirne, 7 Justin Tipuric, 8 Jack Conan.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Taulupe Faletau, 21 Ali Price, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Anthony Watson.
