LIST: 5 Lions contenders who are currently injured

Sunday, 11 April 2021 at 22:23

byRugby Rucker

These five Lions contenders are in a race against time as they look to prove their fitness to be part of Warren Gatland's squad.

#5. Owen Farrell (England)

Age: 28
Position: Fly-half
Odds to make squad: 1/10, was 1/20

Farrell is in a race against time to be fit for a pivotal fortnight in Saracens’ promotion push after missing Sunday’s 54-13 victory over Bedford with a calf injury. Having recovered from the concussion sustained against Ireland at the end of the Six Nations, Farrell was due to make his Greene King IPA Championship debut only to suffer a calf muscle strain.

#4. Jack Nowell (England)

Age: 27
Position: Winger
Odds to make squad: 4/1, was 1/3

The England winger, who became the first Exeter player to represent the Lions in 2017, is yet to play this season having undergone surgery on his toe before unfortunately tearing his hamstring on the verge of his return.

Rob Baxter said: "He is weeks away, it is probably going to be when he hits his maximum loading which we have seen from him over the last two or three seasons, that we will make the final decision to play him.

“In his mind he is good to go. What the hamstring injury has allowed is a longer time for his toe to heal after the operation and we actually went back in and did a little bit more work, I think he had a steroid injection in it and went off his feet for a couple of weeks to allow it to heal."

#3. Caelan Doris (Ireland)

Age: 22
Position: Back-row
Odds to make squad: 10/1, was 2/1

Tipped by Sir Ian McGeechan to be a Lions bolter, Doris reportedly travelled to Birmingham in early February to see a neurologist for his ongoing issues around concussion.

The 22-year-old was concussed within four minutes of his international debut last year, against Scotland, but returned to face England a fortnight later. Doris has since returned to training with the Pro14 champions and Stuart Lancaster told RTÉ Sport that they are optimistic about his recovery.

"He’s on the road to recovery and we’re hopeful he can get back playing again soon. Within the next month, yeah,

"It’s very hard [to say]. It’s like a progressive return to play on the back of a concussion."

#2. Rhys Webb (Wales)

Age: 32
Position: Scrum-row
Odds to make squad: 6/1, was 1/3

His Lions hopes have received a jolt with the news he’s set to be out for ‘numerous weeks’ with the shoulder injury he picked up playing for the Ospreys against the Dragons in early march.

It was a cruel blow for the 32-year-old scrum-half, who had rediscovered his best form after being left out by Wales for the Six Nations

#1. Manu Tuilagi

Age: 22
Position: Centre
Odds to make squad: 10/11, was 1/10

The England centre is around five weeks away from a return to action after tearing the ligament against Northampton in late September, ruling him out of the autumn and Six Nations.

Sale boss Alex Sanderson revealed a positive Manu Tuilagi injury update: “Manu’s walking and learning salsa, believe it or not. If you’re hiking and doing salsa you can’t be far off playing rugby.

“The salsa is for his ankle and a wife of one of the players is taking (coronavirus) tests because she’s able to teach him salsa, so he’s been learning that.

“He’s going to perform for the boys in around five weeks. I haven’t watched him salsa, but he’s good with his feet for a big guy. I went for a 7.5km hike with him around Macclesfield Forest last Friday and he was on great form."