Matt Fagerson backs brother Zander to bounce back from Lions tour heartbreak

Matt Fagerson has backed his brother Zander to recover from the “big blow” of being ruled out of this summer’s British and Irish Lions tour through injury.

The 29-year-old prop was named in Andy Farrell’s squad in May while recovering from a calf injury sustained in April. However, he had to withdraw in June from what would have been the second Lions tour of his career after suffering a recurrence of the problem.

Younger brother Matt, who is currently in Fiji with Scotland, said of his sibling’s disappointment: “I think he took it pretty hard. He had his injury before the squad was announced and he was over the moon (when named in the squad).

“He had been really diligent in his rehab and he was coming back to a really good place. And then re-injuring it, obviously that was definitely a big blow for him. But he’s old enough now to sort of realise that there’s some things he can’t do.

“He did everything right, and these things happen, so I think he’s come to accept that. He’s just working away at home to try and get himself back fit and spend some quality time with the kids and his wife.”

The younger Fagerson would also have been deemed a potential contender for Lions involvement after excelling in the back row for Glasgow and Scotland, but he, too, suffered an untimely ankle injury in April that required surgery.

The consolation for the 26-year-old is that he has been able to “shave a few weeks off” his rehab and get himself fit enough to join up with Gregor Townsend’s Scotland squad for their summer tour of the South Pacific.

“It (the Lions) was probably in the back of my mind, not really knowing if I was in the mix and obviously being out with an injury,” Fagerson said when asked how he viewed getting injured just a month out from Lions selection.

“But when Gregor said that he was really keen for me to come on summer tour, that gave me a lot of purpose in what I was doing in my rehab.

“And that definitely drove me on, gave me something to hold on to. So I haven’t really thought about it (the Lions) since, I’ve just focused on this tour now.”

Fagerson has been working his back to full fitness and, after sitting out last Saturday’s non-cap international victory over Maori All Blacks, the back-rower now feels ready to return to contention for Saturday’s Test against Fiji in Suva and end three months on the sidelines.

“It might have been a little bit of a stretch to play last weekend, but I feel good,” he said. “I’m in great shape, physically. It’s probably just been about getting the confidence in my ankle back.

“I feel like I’ve done that over the last week or so, and I’ve still got this week’s training to do it, so if selected, I’ll be ready to play.”