Ringrose out of first Test and Cowan-Dickie doubtful

Centre Garry Ringrose is out of the British and Irish Lions' first Test against Australia next Saturday in Brisbane, while hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie is a major doubt, says head coach Andy Farrell.

Ringrose, 30, was in strong contention to start the first Test but suffered a concussion in the Lions' victory over ACT Brumbies on Wednesday.

Farrell confirmed the Ireland centre, who scored and was a standout performer against the Brumbies, would be available for the midweek game against First Nations and Pasifika XV on 22 July, before the second Test in Melbourne on 26 July.

Scotland's Huw Jones delivered another impressive performance on Saturday and now looks certain to start the opening Test at outside centre.

"Garry had a delayed reaction. He had headaches for a day and it carried on for the next day so he went through concussion protocols and failed those," Farrell said.

"Unfortunately for him and for us he's [out for] 12 days, so that puts him out of the first Test and back in for the midweek game before the second Test.

"You don't mess around with these things and it is unfortunate for him and everyone else. He's in good spirits anyway, so we crack on."

Cowan-Dickie, 32, also looks likely to miss the game in Brisbane after suffering a concussion in Saturday's win against the AUNZ Invitational XV.

England's Cowan-Dickie, who was likely battling Ronan Kelleher for a spot on the bench next Saturday, still has to go through his concussion protocols to determine the potential length of time out.

Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan remains the frontrunner to start the Test series, but with only three hookers in the squad, Farrell said another hooker will likely join the touring party.

Hooker Jamie George, a two-time Lions tourist, is in Argentina and is set to co-captain England in their second Test later.

The 34-year-old trained with the Lions in Dublin before the squad departed for Australia.

Farrell made clear that geography will not play a factor when calling up a player.

"It looks like we're going to call someone in, so we'll make a call over the next 24 hours," Farrell said.

"It'll be the right person for the squad because we're down to the business end of things."

The Lions' final Test against the Wallabies is on 2 August in Sydney.