O'Kelly expected to recover

Malcolm O’Kelly is expected to be fit for the British & Irish Lions’ first game in New Zealand as he continued to recover from an abdominal muscle strain.

The Irish lock was withdrawn from the Lions’ Zurich Test against Argentina tomorrow but the team’s medics expect the injury to take about a week to recover.

The Lions fly to New Zealand on Wednesday and their first tour match is on June 4, against the Bay of Plenty in Rotorua.

Simon Taylor, who was withdrawn from the Argentina game with a left hamstring strain also suffered in training on Friday, is making “excellent progress”.

The injury is “settling well” but medics will review his condition further tomorrow.