British and Irish Lions suffer major injury scare as Luke Cowan-Dickie leaves field in a neck brace after nasty blow to the head against AUNZ side
The match in Adelaide was brought to a brief halt as medics rushed to attend to the 32-year-old after he appeared to take a blow to the head while attempting to tackle Lukhan Salakaia-Loto.
Cowan-Dickie remained motionless on the turf before being placed in a neck brace and carried from the field on a cart.
Head coach Andy Farrell and his staff now face an anxious wait ahead of next week's first Test against Australia, with Cowan-Dickie expected to undergo mandatory concussion protocols.
Cowan-Dickie appeared to have been knocked unconscious initially.
But there was a ripple of relief among the travelling support when he was later seen waving to the crowd as he left the field.
Another poor tackle technique. Looks like a bad head knock. pic.twitter.com/qiexx6MwjX
— Brett Igoe (@brettruganalyst) July 12, 2025
Cowan-Dickie was also spotted walking unaided near the tunnel shortly after half-time — a promising sign, though it remains unclear whether he will play any further part in the tour.
Sale's experienced front-rower had been fancied to start the series opener, but his injury could open the door for Ronan Kelleher, who came on as his replacement and scored one of the Lions' eight tries.
Despite the injury concern, it was a dominant performance from the Lions, who ran in tries through Duhan van der Merwe, Ben White, Scott Cummings, and others to seal a comprehensive shutout in their penultimate warm-up fixture.
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