Injury woes start to bite for Lions

The British and Irish Lions' injury jinx will follow them into their South Africa tour opener against a Royal XV on Saturday.

Wales number eight Andy Powell is battling to overcome a hand problem, which is understood to have been caused by an insect bite.

And Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris, who is due to be among the replacements this weekend, has a calf muscle injury. A final decision on the fitness of both players will be made on Saturday.

The latest problems come after a disruptive tour build-up that saw Tomas O'Leary, Tom Shanklin and Jerry Flannery all fall by the wayside through serious injuries.

On top of that, Munster flanker Alan Quinlan was sidelined by a 12-week suspension, while Wales wing Leigh Halfpenny will join the tour late after remaining in Cardiff for intensive treatment on a thigh injury.

"We've got a couple of niggles," said Lions assistant coach and scrummaging specialist Graham Rowntree.

"Andy Powell picked up a bit of a hand injury this week, and didn't train fully this morning. We will assess that on Saturday morning.

"And Stephen Ferris has got a bit of a calf injury, which we will assess on Saturday as well.

"We've got a great medical team, and we are certainly not ruling people out the day before a game.

"We've got various contingency plans. With all the back-row options we have, we can make decisions on the day of the game."