Lions suffer blow as Owen Farrell suffers muscle strain
Lions No 10 Owen Farrell faces a race against time to face the All Blacks after being struck by a leg injury.
The 25-year-old suffered a grade one quadriceps strain in training and has pulled out of Saturday's game against the Maori All Blacks.
Farrell was tipped to be the Lions' most influential player in the Test series, which kicks off at Eden Park next Saturday.
Owen Farrell has been ruled out of the match against the Maori All Blacks in Rotorua
Irishman Johnny Sexton will wear the No 10 jersey in Rotorua on Saturday, with Wales' Dan Biggar replacing Farrell on the bench.
Farrell suffered a similar injury in 2014, when he was ruled out for a month, but the Lions are not planning to call up cover.
Speaking hours before Farrell's injury, head coach Warren Gatland suggested Farrell was a shoo-in for the Test side and was being held back from the Maori fixture so the Lions did show their hand.
'We felt Owen's had a bit of rugby at the moment,' said Gatland.
Farrell suffered a grade one quadriceps strain in training in Lions training on Thursday
'We've got to make sure we're not fully showing our hand. We've got to keep some combinations back and keep the All Blacks guessing a little about what the final squad might be.'
Gatland added that Sexton needed to build up his game time to boost his confidence.
'Johnny needs more rugby and we're building on that,' said Gatland.
'He was really good off the bench the other day and the combination of 10 and 12 was pretty seamless.
The injury is as a blow to Warren Gatland, who was expected to start Farrell in the Test series
MAORI ALL BLACKS TEAM TO FACE LIONS J Lowe, N Milner-Skudder, M Proctor, C Ngatai, R Ioane, D McKenzie, T Kerr-Barlow, K Hames, A Dixon (captain), B May, J Wheeler, T Franklin, A Ioane, E Dixon, L Messam. Replacements: H Elliot, C Eves, M Renata, L Price, K Pryor, B Hall, I West, R Thompson.
'He was just down a little on confidence but he's got a bit of his mojo back, and we wanted to give him a start against the Maori.'
Farrell's injury comes as a major blow to Gatland ahead of arguably the toughest match of the tour to date.
Maori All Blacks star Liam Messam has warned the Lions that they will be facing a cohesive unit on Saturday.
'We're bound by blood; we naturally come together as a group of brothers,' said Messam.
'But even so, we can't take that for granted, so it's about switching on together quickly and working on our plans in training.
'When you come into this environment you put away your Super Rugby colours and come together as one.
The 25-year-old suffered a similar mucle injury in 2014, when he was ruled out for a month
'The quicker we can do that we can use that to our advantage on Saturday.'
The Lions suffered a shock 19-13 defeat to the Maori All Blacks on the ill-fated New Zealand trip in 2005.
Head coach Colin Cooper admits that victory in Hamilton 12 years ago can still prove inspirational to the current class of 2017.
Asked if the Maori can draw on that win, Cooper replied: 'Very much so. Again it's this team that's representing those guys, representing their exploits. That's inspiring.'
Farrell now faces a race against time to prove his fitness before the opening Test on June 24
As well as Farrell's potential absence, there is also a danger that skipper Sam Warburton will not make the first Test against the All Blacks.
The Welshman has been named for Saturday's game with Ireland flanker Peter O'Mahony taking over the captaincy.
'Sam's well aware of the competition that is there at the moment,' said Gatland.
'He fully understands that that loose forward trio went outstandingly well against the Crusaders.
'The challenge for them is to repeat it. And if they do it again, we'll make what we think is the right selection for the Test match.
Lions captain Sam Waburton is also in danger of missing the first Test against the All Blacks
'One of the reasons we selected him as captain of the squad is that he is an absolute quality player.
'But this tour isn't about Sam Warburton, it's about putting the squad first.
'If he's not involved in the first Test because of the performance on Saturday night he will fully understand that.
'But he'll get some game time and some opportunity to keep improving his match fitness because he hasn't had a lot of rugby in recent weeks.'