Scotland star suffers British and Irish Lions heartbreak as he's replaced in squad after gutting injury blow

Glasgow Warriors' Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu are pictured after being called up for the British and Irish Lions squad | SNS Group

A Scotland star has been dealt a major blow after a calf injury ruled him out of the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia.

Glasgow Warriors star Zander Fagerson has been out of action since April but was hoping to make a full recovery in time to board the plane that will travel down under for a three-test series later this month. However, the writing appeared to be on the wall when Fagerson was absent from the Warriors’ United Rugby Championship play-off semi-final defeat against Leinster at the weekend.

Monday brought confirmation Fagerson had withdrawn from the squad as Andy Farrell and his players head to Portugal for a pre-tour training camp before facing Argentina in Dublin in their first warmup game on Friday week. Head coach Farrell described the news as ‘part and parcel of the game’ - but conceded it was difficult to lose Fagerson so close to the tour getting underway.

He told The British and Irish Lions website said: “It’s tough on Zander to miss out so close to the Tour, but now Finlay gets an opportunity to come in and add to the group. This is unfortunately part and parcel of the game, so we always have to be prepared for that. But it’s great to finally be at the stage where we can get onto the training ground and get to work with these players. Portugal will be really important for us as we look to get our house in order with only a few training sessions before we take on Argentina in the 1888 Cup in Dublin.”

Ireland and Connacht’s Finlay Bealham has been called into the squad to replace Ferguson.

The British and Irish Lions squad to tour Australia

Glasgow Warriors' Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu after being called up for the British & Irish Lions squad. | SNS Group

Forwards: Finlay Bealham (Ireland), Tadhg Beirne (Ireland), Luke Cowan-Dickie (England), Scott Cummings (Scotland) Tom Curry (England), Ben Earl (England), Jamie George (England), Ellis Genge (England), Maro Itoje (England), Jac Morgan (Wales), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (England), Henry Pollock (England), Pierre Schoeman (Scotland) Backs: Bundee Aki (Ireland), Elliot Daly (England), Tommy Freeman (England), Mack Hansen (Ireland), Huw Jones (Scotland), Alex Mitchell (England), Fin Smith (England), Marcus Smith (England), Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland), Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland), Tomos Williams (Wales)

British and Irish Lions fixtures

Andy Farrell, the British and Irish Lions head coach, with his assistants. | Getty Images

20/06/2025 - The Lions v Argentina (Aviva Stadium, Dublin) 28/06/2025 - Western Force v The Lions (Optus Stadium, Perth) 02/07/2025 - Queensland Reds v The Lions (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane) 05/07/2025 - NSW Waratahs v The Lions (Allianz Stadium, Sydney) 09/07/2025 - ACT Brumbies v The Lions (GIO Stadium, Canberra) 12/07/2025 - Invitational AU & NZ v The Lions (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide) 19/07/2025 - Wallabies v The Lions (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane) 22/07/2025 - First Nations & Pasifika XV v The Lions (Marvel Stadium, Melbourne) 26/07/2025 - Wallabies v The Lions (MCG, Melbourne) 02/08/2025 - Wallabies v The Lions (Accor Stadium, Sydney)

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