Rugby: Injured British and Irish Lions captain Jones out of South Africa tour

EDINBURGH: The British and Irish Lions suffered a major setback ahead of their tour of South Africa when captain Alun Wyn Jones was ruled out of the trip after suffering a shoulder injury in a warm-up match against Japan in Edinburgh.

Veteran lock Jones, 35, went off just eight minutes into an 28-10 win over Japan at Murrayfield, a curtain-raiser for an eight-game tour of South Africa that culminates with three Tests against the world champion Springboks.

"He's dislocated his shoulder," said Lions head coach Warren Gatland, with Jones appearing to suffer the injury when he was cleared out at a ruck.

"Prognosis is best case scenario is he might be okay for the first Test (at Cape Town on Jul 24).

"However, we've had a chat and it looks like we're going to have to replace him. It's devastating news."

The Lions are due to leave for South Africa on Sunday, with former Wales boss Gatland adding: "It's very disappointing. He's been around rugby long enough but he'll be gutted. We need to call someone in, get them PCR tested and hopefully get them on the flight tomorrow."

The Lions' first game in South Africa is against the Emirates Lions in Johannesburg on Jul 3.