Joe McCarthy a doubt for second Test as Lions call up Brown
Scottish second row Gregor Brown has been called into Andy Farrell's squad after McCarthy was forced off injured in the Lions' first Test win over the Wallabies in Brisbane yesterday.
McCarthy was replaced early in the second half and received attention from the Lions medical team on the bench.
Head coach Farrell revealed post-game that McCarthy has plantar fasciitis, which is inflammation of the tissue on the bottom of the foot. It can be a painful affliction and often means players need to manage their training load.
'It was niggling away at him there,' said Farrell after the Lions' 27-19 victory.
Advertisement
'We got him off. Hopefully, we got him off in time.'
However, the Lions have now decided to bring in an additional second row as they manage McCarthy's injury.
Glasgow lock Brown will arrive in Melbourne this evening, having started Scotland's 41-12 win over Samoa in New Zealand on Friday.
Brown will land in Australia with Scotland team-mates Rory Sutherland and Ewan Ashman, whose call-ups were announced earlier this week.
The arrival of the Scottish trio means that the Lions will have a 45-man squad in Australia.
As Farrell has made a raft of call-ups over the past week, it has become clear that the Lions boss doesn't want to risk Test frontliners in Tuesday's final midweek game against the First Nations & Pasifika XV in Melbourne.
Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt was asked last night whether he thinks the Lions having to play on Tuesday would give the hosts an edge ahead of the second Test, but he rubbished that idea in comical style.
'They've got 44 players,' said Schmidt, speaking before Brown's call-up. 'So I don't really see it as an edge.
'I'm not great at maths, I was an English teacher. But 44 players still leaves them with 21 that don't have to play on Tuesday night.
'So I think they'll roll into the weekend pretty well.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
18 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Son Heung-min completes move to Los Angeles FC for record MLS fee
Son Heung-min has ended his 10-year stay at Tottenham after making the "hardest decision ever" to leave for Los Angeles FC in a record Major League Soccer transfer. It was revealed on Saturday that Son would depart Spurs following 173 goals in 454 appearances and months after he captained the club to Europa League glory. After an agreement between Tottenham and LAFC was struck for a deal in excess of £20m, the 33-year-old arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday and a day later he has finalised his transfer, which is the highest fee paid by an MLS club for a player. In a post to Spurs fans on Instagram, Son, who has signed an initial two-year deal with LAFC with options for a further two, wrote: "How to find the right words for this? I don't know. I have been thinking for days. It's impossible. But here I go. "It's time for me to say goodbye to Tottenham Hotspur. My home for the past decade. When I arrived in 2015, I didn't speak English, I didn't know London, but you welcomed me with open arms, believed in me, and stood by me through every high and low. "I was just a boy from Korea with big dreams who was supposed to have no chance. And now, 10 years later, North London is in my heart forever. "I've made friends for life here, had the honour of becoming a godfather here, and had the privilege of captaining our special club here. I've poured my heart and soul into this club, which makes this the hardest decision ever. "I thought if I was ever going to leave, it would have to be on my terms, on the best terms, when our mission had been accomplished together. With pride and honour." Son joined Spurs in 2015 from Bayer Leverkusen. After a tough debut campaign the South Korea captain went on to become one of the club's best ever players and made himself a Premier League great in the process. Alongside old partner in crime Harry Kane, Son holds the record for the most goal involvements by a duo in the Premier League, with the pair assisting each other on a record 47 occasions in the competition. The Chuncheon-born attacker also won the league's Golden Boot award in the 2021-22 season after scoring 23 times and he sits 17th in the list of all-time scorers in the division with 127 goals. Under former boss Mauricio Pochettino, Son's consistent displays helped turn Tottenham into genuine title contenders but silverware continued to allude them after a second-placed finish in 2017 was followed by a Champions League runner-up spot two years later. Whilst various members of Pochettino's team left not long after the Argentinian's winter departure in 2019, Son stayed to work under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte before he was tasked with leading a new era by Ange Postecoglou. Postecoglou named Son as his captain in the wake of Kane's high-profile switch to Bayern Munich and Hugo Lloris' departure from the first team and after a rollercoaster two seasons under the Australian, they achieved the holy grail together on 21 May. Son was consigned to a place on the bench in Bilbao for the Europa League final against Manchester United following an injury-affected campaign, but was introduced to make his final competitive appearance for Spurs to help them win 1-0 and end a 17-year wait for silverware. It etched Son's name into the history books as he became only the fourth captain in Spurs' history to lift a European trophy after Danny Blanchflower, Alan Mullery and Steve Perryman. The popular South Korean will renew acquaintances with Lloris and move to Los Angeles, which boasts one of the largest Korean populations in the world, ahead of next summer's World Cup in the United States.
Irish Independent
5 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Everton approach Man City about Jack Grealish loan as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall signs from Chelsea
Grealish, 29, was stuck on the fringes of City's squad last season and his prospects look no brighter after a summer in which the talented 21-year-old French midfielder Rayan Cherki joined Pep Guardiola's squad. Guardiola left Grealish out of his selection for the recent Club World Cup after coming to a mutual agreement with the winger that he needed a break. Grealish joined City from boyhood club Aston Villa in a transfer worth £100m, which made him the most expensive English footballer in history. And although he has been linked with a return to Villa, it is Everton who have taken the first steps to secure his signature. Everton are hoping to push on after a 13th-placed finish last season under returning manager David Moyes, having moved into their new ground, the Hill Dickinson Stadium, over the summer. The club completed the signing of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Chelsea on Wednesday for around £25m. 'Everton's one of the biggest clubs in the country, and I think that in the next couple of years, the future is going to be bright. It was an easy decision in the end to come here and play for this club,' Dewsbury-Hall said. "I'm so, so excited to get started. Just sitting here in the stadium, it's unbelievable. "I'm honestly very excited, my family's excited. There's a real buzz about this. It feels right for me. So just that alone gives me the motivation and the extra determination to show everybody, to prove a point and have a really successful time here." Everton have been busy in the transfer market this off-season, with Dewsbury-Hall the fifth major signing after Charly Alcaraz, Thierno Barry, Mark Travers and Adam Aznou. But Moyes said last week that he wants 'six more signings' to be content going into the new campaign.
Irish Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
St Pat's blow as key player ruled out for season on eve of Besikitas clash
Zack Elbouzedi has been ruled out for the rest of St Pat's season. The ace winger dislocated his shoulder in the first-leg win over Estonian side Nomme Kalju at Richmond Park a fortnight ago. And ahead of Thursday's big European clash with Turkish giants Besiktas, Stephen Kenny confirmed he won't play again in 2025. Kenny said: 'Zack has been ruled out for the season. He needs an operation on his dislocated shoulder. Aidan Keena will be out for a long period and Romal Palmer is (already) out. Those three would have featured in these games, but it opens up the door for other players. Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . 'Simon Power has come in and grabbed his opportunity, and Kian Leavy, so it opens up for other players, and that's the nature of football.' But Kenny has swooped to secure cover on the flanks with the signing of Jamaican-born Jordan Garrick. He was most recently with Forest Green Rovers and has made over 130 appearances in English with Swansea City, Swindon Town, Plymouth Argyle and Lincoln City. St Pats' Zack Elbouzedi is injured against Kalju (Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne) Garrick is registered to feature in tonight's European squad but is unlikely to be involved having trained just twice with his new team-mates. Kenny said: 'He's had a terrific career and we feel he can make a good impact and contribution here, in what will be an intensive period. 'With Zack being ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury, he'll have an operation soon. And with the (quad) injury Aidan Keena picked up last week plus Romal Palmer also being out, it's an area of the pitch we've been looking at. 'Jordon can play in any attacking areas of the pitch, central but predominantly wide, and had a really good spell with Plymouth in League 1 as well as at Forest Green." St Pat's are big underdogs against Besikitas and Kenny added: "To win over two legs is the challenge, not just the game tomorrow, but the game in Istanbul of course. 'It's a big challenge and you have to prepare well because you can lose it in the first 10 minutes if you're not psychologically tuned in. We must back ourselves and try to establish some elements of control in the game. That will be our objective.' Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
