1 month ago
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British and Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje has been ruled out of the remainder of Saturday's final Test after failing a Head Injury Assessment (HIA).
Andy Farrell's side entered Saturday's clash at the Stadium Australia in Sydney looking to secure a historic series whitewash.
The Lions opened the series with a 27-19 victory in Brisbane, before battling back from behind against a resurgent Australia in Melbourne last weekend.
With a first series win in 12 years under their belt, the Lions entered Saturday's clash awash with confidence but were quickly brought back down to earth when Dylan Pietsch ran over to give the hosts an early.
The Test would subsequently go from bad to worse when England lock Itoje was involved in a heavy collision after 27 minutes.
Itoje was replaced by Ollie Chessum and subsequently failed a HIA, bringing an end to his impressive contribution to the series.
Maro Itoje was forced off in the Lions' third Test with Australia and subsequently failed a HIA
Tommy Freeman suffered the same fate in the first half and was replaced by Owen Farrell
James Ryan subsequently left the pitch on a stretcher after colliding with Will Skelton
The tourists then suffered even more bad fortune as winger Tommy Freeman was also removed from play before failing his own HIA before half-time.
Owen Farrell was introduced to replace Freeman, with Huw Jones pushed onto the wing.
Freeman had been a doubt to feature before the game after missing out on the captain's run on Friday due to struggling with a back injury.
In a game punctuacted by spells of lighting that ultimately caused a delay in play, the Lions' injury woes were not yet over.
James Ryan was forced to leave the pitch on a stretcher in the second half after he was knocked unconscious after Will Skelton's knee caught him in the head.
Medics ran onto the field immediately to treat the second-row, who gave a thumbs up gesture to fans as he was carried away.
