Lions play down fears over Furlong's fitness for tour

The British & Irish Lions have insisted they have no fitness concerns over the veteran tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong and have revealed he and other Premiership and URC finalists will be considered for their opening match against Argentina in Dublin next Friday.

- Gerard Meagher

Furlong, who has started the last nine Lions Tests, has not played for his province since early May due to a calf injury, prompting fears over his availability for the Australia tour. Zander Fagerson withdrew from the squad on Monday, leaving options at tighthead severely limited.

Ireland's Finlay Bealham has been called up to replace Fagerson and with Bath's Will Stuart preparing for the Premiership final against Leicester on Saturday, Sale's 20-year-old Asher Opoku-Fordjour has been called up to the Lions' Portugal training camp. He and Jamie George - another called up for the week in the Algarve - are among 24 players at Andy Farrell's disposal with Bath, Leicester, Leinster and Toulouse players focused on club commitments.

The Lions forwards coach, John Dalziel, delivered positive news on Duhan van der Merwe, Huw Jones and Mack Hansen, who have been injured recently, and was quick to allay fears over Furlong. Farrell was expected to select the team to face Argentina from the 24 in Portugal, but Dalziel was adamant that club finalists will be considered. "Tadhg has the availability to be able to train and play this week with Leinster," he said.