Scotland and Glasgow Warriors tight-head prop Zander Fagerson has been ruled out of the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia with a calf injury with Ireland and Connacht’s Finlay Bealham called up to replace him.

England’s Jamie George and Asher Opoku-Fordjour will also travel to Portugal to train with the squad, with 16 players unavailable due to the Gallagher Premiership and United Rugby Championship (URC) finals this week.

Saracens hooker George was a Lions Tourist in 2017 and 2021 while Sale Sharks prop Opoku-Fordjour made his debut for England against Japan last November.

“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,” said Lions head coach Andy Farrell.

“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.”

The players involved in URC and the Premiership are expected to join the squad in Ireland next week ahead of the 1888 Cup match in Dublin against Argentina.

A fixture against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Friday June 20 will be the final act of preparation for Farrell’s side.

“The opportunity to play in Dublin at Aviva Stadium in front of over 50,000 Lions fans will make for a great occasion and the perfect send-off,” Lions chief executive Ben Calveley said.

“British & Irish Lions Tours have a rich heritage built over 130 years of touring but alongside our strong history which we are very proud of, it is important that we look for ways in which to evolve our Tours.”

The British & Irish Lions Squad (Portugal Camp)

Forwards:

Finlay Bealham (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)

Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland)

Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England)

Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland)

Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England)

Ben Earl (Saracens/England)

Jamie George (Saracens/England)

Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England)

Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) (c)

Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales)

Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks/England)

Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England)

Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)

Backs:

Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)

Elliot Daly (Saracens/England)

Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England)

Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)

Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)

Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England)

Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England)

Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England)

Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)

Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)

Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales)

Watch every game of the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, including all three Test matches against the Wallabies, exclusively live on Sky Sports. Also stream with NOW.