South Sydney’s former Bradford forward Sam Burgess has been ruled out of the Great Britain tour to New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. The 30-year-old suffered a recurrence of a shoulder injury in his club’s NRL semi-final defeat by Canberra Raiders in August and is set to undergo surgery. The loss of Burgess, who made his Great Britain debut as an 18-year-old against the Kiwis in 2007, is a major blow for Wayne Bennett’s team as they prepare to embark on the first Lions tour for 23 years. Sam Burgess, centre, may need a shoulder operation (Grant Trouville/PA)Rugby Football League rugby director Kevin Sinfield said at a training session at the Manchester Institute of Health and Performance: “We got it confirmed this morning that Sam Burgess will be out of the tour sadly. Kevin Sinfield announced Burgess’ injury news (Mike Egerton/PA)“It will provide somebody else with an opportunity and hopefully they can grab it.”The RFL announced a 16-man England squad for the World Cup Nines, with 11 of them staying on for the Lions tour.

Source: Express October 08, 2019 12:56 UTC