George called up to Lions after Cowan-Dickie injury

England hooker Jamie George has been called up to the British and Irish Lions squad after Luke Cowan-Dickie emerged as an injury doubt for the first Test against Australia next Saturday.

Hooker Cowan-Dickie, 32, looks likely to miss the game in Brisbane after suffering a suspected concussion in Saturday’s win against the AUNZ Invitational XV.

George, a two-time Lions tourist, is in Argentina and was set to co-captain England in their second Test, but will instead join up with the Lions in Brisbane next week.

He also trained with the Lions in Dublin before the squad departed for Australia.

The 34-year-old has been replaced in England’s starting line-up by Saracens team-mate Theo Dan, with Curtis Langdon coming on to the bench.

“We’re absolutely delighted for Jamie’s selection,” said England head coach Steve Borthwick.

“This is also a fantastic opportunity for Theo and Curtis, who have both worked incredibly hard and really impressed in training.

Lions head coach Andy Farrell, meanwhile, confirmed centre Garry Ringrose has been ruled out of the first Test against Australia.

Ringrose, 30, was in strong contention to start the first Test in Brisbane but suffered a concussion in the Lions’ victory over ACT Brumbies on Wednesday.

Farrell confirmed the Ireland centre, who scored and was a standout performer against the Brumbies, would be available for the midweek game against First Nations and Pasifika XV on 22 July, before the second Test in Melbourne on 26 July.

Scotland’s Huw Jones delivered another impressive performance on Saturday in the eight-try win against the AUNZ Invitational XV and now looks certain to start the opening Test at outside centre.

The 31-year-old has started his past two Lions games alongside Scotland and Glasgow Warriors centre partner Sione Tuipulotu, which could now be Farrell’s first-Test midfield combination.

Ireland utility back Jamie Osborne was called up to the Lions squad on Thursday as “training cover” for Scotland full-back Kinghorn and is comfortable playing at centre or full-back.

“Garry had a delayed reaction. He had headaches for a day and it carried on for the next day so he went through concussion protocols and failed those,” Farrell said.

“Unfortunately for him and for us he’s [out for] 12 days, so that puts him out of the first Test and back in for the midweek game before the second Test.

“You don’t mess around with these things and it is unfortunate for him and everyone else. He’s in good spirits anyway, so we crack on.”