British and Irish Lions face setbacks with injuries to Cowan-Dickie and Garry Ringrose

Garry Ringrose has emerged as a major doubt for the British and Irish Lions’ opening Test match against the Wallabies, according to multiple reports. The Irish centre has reportedly sustained a concussion during the midweek match against the Brumbies, which the tourists won 24-36 in Canberra.

Because he has previously suffered a head injury, he may have to complete World Rugby’s 12-day stand-down period for returning to play. The Lions‘ victory over the Brumbies was 10 days before the first Test against the Wallabies, so Ringrose would miss the Series opener if he does have to complete that stand-down period.

If Ringrose is to be ruled out, Andy Farrell will likely be tempted to deploy the Scotland combination of Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones, who started the match against the AUNZ Invitational XV on Saturday. This is just the latest blow, with Blair Kinghorn expected to miss the opening Test against Australia after sustaining a knee injury against the Brumbies.

Ireland utility back Jamie Osborne has been called into the Lions squad as training cover for the tourists. In a further blow to the British and Irish Lions, hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie was carted off the pitch during the first half of the game after a nasty head knock. The English hooker got a tackle all wrong and was knocked out cold, causing a lengthy delay to safely remove him from the pitch in order to get medical attention.

He will surely miss the opening Test match too and it’s yet to be seen whether Farrell believes additional cover will be needed. If so, one would think that Dewi Lake and Jamie George would be the front-runners for a recall. The former is currently in Japan and helped Wales to end an 18-game losing streak in their final July international match. As for George, he is set to co-captain England in their second Test match against Argentina later today.

According to the source: Planet Rugby.