Saturday 10 June 2017 13:26, UK
Lions head coach Warren Gatland has allayed fears regarding Sam Warburton's ankle knock, revealing the skipper will "probably" feature against the Highlanders on Tuesday.
Having been written off by most following their 22-16 defeat to the Blues on Wednesday, the Lions secured a 12-3 victory over the unbeaten Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday.
Warburton was absent from the win having not featured since the opening tour game against New Zealand Provincial Barbarians due to an ankle complaint.
"A lot has been made about Sam not being involved," Gatland said at his post-match press conference.
"We will probably give him a run on Tuesday. He needs some game time.
"It has been a tough week. There has been a lot of criticism: people had written the tour off after two matches.
"That has been challenging and we have had to stay tight within the group. I hope we haven't disappointed too many people with that result tonight."
Irish flankers Sean O'Brien and Peter O'Mahony made their first starts of the tour against the Crusaders, while Welshman Taulupe Faletau occupied the No 8 position, with all three impressing defensively and at the set-piece.
Full-back Stuart Hogg and centre Jonathan Davies were early withdrawals having failed their respective head injury assessments, and Gatland confirmed the duo would not be considered for the game against the Highlanders.
"Stuart Hogg has quite a nasty cut," Gatland added. "Both he and Jonathan Davies failed HIAs, so they will go through the six-day protocol.
"We need our wingers to get up in the air and compete more. They're probably a bit nervous after what happened with Liam Williams last week. Murray's kicking game was very good.
"It was a step up. It was a try-less game for both teams but we created a few chances and didn't quite take the opportunities.
"But I'm really pleased, more with the result than the performance. We needed that."
