Halfpenny out of Lions tour

Welsh wing Leigh Halfpenny will miss the remainder of the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa due to a thigh injury, team management announced on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old only joined up with the tour last week after being left behind to recover from an injury to his thigh when the Lions left for South Africa on May 24.

The winger strained his thigh taking kicks after training on Monday.

“He had the scan on Tuesday morning that confirmed a presence of a further muscle injury to his right thigh, which will require three to four weeks of rehabilitation, which means he will miss the rest of the tour,” Lions coach Ian McGeechan said in a statement

“I am especially disappointed for Leigh as he worked so hard to come back from the setback at the start of the tour, but he has proven his strength of character by the way that he is handling the news and we wish him a quick recovery.”

The Lions coach added that they would not be calling up a replacement.

Halfpenny was due to be on the bench against the Natal Sharks in Durban later on Wednesday. His place was taken by countryman James Hook.—Reuters