Dallaglio's withdrawal adds to Lions' woes

Injury problems mount for battered tourists after bruising victory over unrepentant New South Wales side

Graham Henry and Donal Lenihan spent the best part of a year compiling a Lions squad they considered good enough to beat the world champions of Australia on their own turf, only to see that squad crumble at the foundations in the time it has taken to play four matches and engage in one 30-man brawl. No sooner had Will Greenwood, the form centre in the party, been ruled out of this weekend's opening Test with the Wallabies in Brisbane, than Lawrence Dallaglio, the back-row icon of an unprecedentedly successful England team, dropped out of the running altogether.

Dallaglio nearly missed the trip because of damage to the ligaments in his right knee, suffered during the Zurich Championship semi-final between Wasps and Bath last month. He missed the first three games of the tour, but survived a hard outing against Australia A in Gosford six days ago. However, the knee went again in the first half of Saturday's turbulent confrontation with New South Wales, and although the Londoner made it through to the final whistle, he gave up the ghost yesterday.

"Had I stayed on tour any longer, I would have risked causing further damage to the ligaments," he said. "That might have left me requiring reconstructive surgery, which is not something I want to contemplate." David Wallace, the athletic open-side flanker from Munster, will join the squad this week after being summoned from Ireland's summer training stint in Poland, of all places.

To make matters worse, Henry's two senior hookers called in sick yesterday, and may struggle to make the date with the Wallabies. Keith Wood suffered an as yet undiagnosed injury to his left knee against the Waratahs, while Llanelli's Robbie McBryde is still struggling with the thigh problems that curtailed his appearance against the Queensland President's XV in Townsville almost a fortnight back. The Lions, who lost a hooker early when Phil Greening suffered a training injury before a shot had been fired in anger, are calling for the thirty-something Leicester and England front-rower Dorian West.

There is no guarantee that the management will be able to provide hooking cover for Gordon Bulloch, the solitary fit No 2, when the Lions take on a New South Wales Country XV in Coffs Harbour tomorrow. But that is the least of their problems. Having seen five of the original squad – Dallaglio, Greening, Simon Taylor, Mike Catt and Dan Luger – disappear from the tour, they are genuinely concerned that the entire project has been undermined.

While Greenwood is still on tour, he is also on crutches; and he, more than anyone, will be missed in Brisbane this weekend for his imaginative play-making and consistency. But for his bad luck, the Harlequins centre would have no luck at all. Having been invalided out of the Lions' tour of South Africa four years ago, when he lost consciousness and almost died on an awful night in Bloemfontein, he is now facing a second successive blow to his Test ambitions.

Greenwood damaged ankle ligaments during Saturday's game, and his tour looked over as he hobbled towards the touch-line, close to tears. However, he was scanned at a clinic in Gosford yesterday and was then driven to Coffs Harbour by Dr James Robson, the Lions respected medic-in-chief. "I look at things optimistically," Greenwood said. "It could be worse. It's not as if I've just woken up in a hospital in Bloemfontein, wondering where the hell I am. All I can do is grit my teeth and try to get fit for one of the later Tests."

It now seems clear that Ireland's Rob Henderson, an impressive early-tour performer at inside centre, will partner his compatriot Brian O'Driscoll against the Wallabies, although Mark Taylor and the recently arrived Scott Gibbs will attempt to construct a case for themselves tomorrow. Dallaglio's demise opens the door for Scott Quinnell at No 8, with Martin Corry and Colin Charvis mounting long-shot challenges.

David Young, a Lion here in 1989, leads the midweek side for the third successive match. He will be accompanied by six colleagues who started last week's shambolic affair in Gosford: Ben Cohen at right-wing, Neil Jenkins and Austin Healey at half-back, Jason Leonard at loose head, Malcolm O'Kelly at lock and Martyn Williams on the open side.

After the week the Lions have just suffered – defeat, controversy, injury; everything but plague and famine, in fact – a big victory in the second easiest match on the itinerary is an absolute must. As Henry said after the selection meeting: "This is the most important week of the whole tour, and we need a lift."