Australia fly-half Noah Lolesio ruled out of Lions Test series after neck surgery

Australia have suffered a significant setback with confirmation that their first-choice fly-half, Noah Lolesio, will miss the Lions series through injury. Lolesio has undergone surgery on his neck and the Wallaby coach, Joe Schmidt, will now have to select a different playmaker and goalkicker for next week’s first Test in Brisbane.

The two main candidates are Ben Donaldson and Tom Lynagh, but Lolesio has started 12 of the past 14 Wallaby Tests under Schmidt and his absence will be keenly felt. Other possible alternatives include the veterans James O’Connor and Bernard Foley, both of whom are 35 and have been playing in New Zealand and Japan respectively.

It is far from ideal for Schmidt, with Lynagh having also had fitness problems. The Wallabies’ chances of winning the best-of-three series will be sharply reduced if they are hit by injuries in key positions and, ideally, they need a fly-half capable of outplaying the Lions’ talented No 10 Finn Russell.

It is also rotten luck for Lolesio, who was taken from the field on a medical cart during Sunday’s win over Fiji in Newcastle, but was later discharged from hospital. Rugby Australia initially advised that Lolesio had been “cleared of significant damage”, but now say he was readmitted for surgery on Tuesday after further medical assessment. They said he will be out “for the foreseeable future”, but that he is expected to make a full recovery.

The 25-year-old Lolesio, who has won 30 caps, has had a rough time recently. He suffered a similar problem for the Brumbies against the Western Force in May and has had to leave the field injured in three of his past five games. On this occasion he was hit hard in a legal tackle by Fiji’s Elia Canakaivata and was treated for several minutes before being carried off.

“Firstly, we were relieved that Noah was up and moving well when he returned to the team hotel after his initial hospital visit in Newcastle on Sunday,” said Schmidt. “Further to that, it’s an added relief for everyone, especially his family, that successful surgery now has him on the road to recovery.”

Donaldson, who featured at full-back for the Western Force against the Lions, will now be favourite to wear the No 10 jersey in Brisbane on Saturday week. Further options may include Tane Edmed or Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, both of whom have been named in the Australia & New Zealand Invitational XV squad to face the Lions in Adelaide on Saturday.