• Coach tried to convince Billy Vunipola to have second medical opinion • Sam Warburton says he is ‘fully fit’ following his knee injury

Warren Gatland fears the Lions will lose up to 10 players to injury over the next month following Billy Vunipola’s withdrawal from the squad heading for New Zealand. The head coach has also revealed he asked the England No8 to come to Ireland for a second medical opinion on his injured shoulder before respecting Vunipola’s request to pull out of the tour.

With the squad due to fly from Heathrow on Monday, Gatland is desperately hoping no further replacements will be required before departure but, with two showpiece domestic finals still to negotiate in London and Dublin this Saturday, he is not entirely optimistic. “No doubt there could be a couple more next week,” he said. “We plan to lose six to 10 players; that’s just the attrition rate of past tours. Any player who gets injured at this time is a big loss to the squad because you spend a lot of time going through the process of picking [specific] players.”

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Vunipola is a conspicuous absentee on every front but a long-standing shoulder issue, which was set to be operated upon in July, has been aggravated at the most inconvenient of moments. “I did try and persuade him to come over and be assessed but he was adamant he wasn’t right,” said Gatland. “He is a big loss to us but I fully respect the decision he’s made not to go on the tour. He spoke to his family and they felt he was making the right decision. I think it was pretty tough for him. He’s had this ongoing shoulder problem for the last five to six months. We knew he was being managed by Saracens and it needed an operation which was potentially going to be done this summer.

“It had been popping out during games so you’ve got to respect his decision. I wasn’t going to push him. He’s got to be in the right mental frame of mind … we just have to move on.”

More happily for Gatland X-rays have confirmed the Ireland prop Jack McGrath has only a bruised arm, with his compatriot Tadhg Furlong also able to train on Monday. While Johnny Sexton, Sean O’Brien, Rhys Webb and Ken Owens were able to do only light exercise at the squad’s temporary base outside Dublin, the Lions coaches have 30 players on parade following the semi-final wins by Scarlets and Exeter over Leinster and Saracens respectively. “Being purely selfish they were pretty good results for us on the weekend,” said Gatland. “We’ve gone from 14 in Wales last week to having 30 in camp. We weren’t really expecting that number.”

The remaining members of the squad will join up on Sunday, including Vunipola’s replacement, James Haskell. Gatland phoned the Wasps forward to check on his state of fitness before calling back with news of his selection.

Haskell, unsurprisingly, was extremely keen. “He said: ‘I’ll carry the bags if needs be,’ reported Gatland. “That’s the kind of person he is. It’s not just about your rugby ability. It’s about how you handle being in the squad. Some people are used to being No1 for their nations. On this tour they might have to accept they’re No2. He’ll be great for us…a really positive addition. He’s also had experience of touring and playing in New Zealand. That’s reasonably significant.”

Haskell, belatedly picked for the long-awaited Lions adventure he thought had passed him by, remains gutted for his injured England team-mate but fully intends to make the most of his unexpected opportunity.

“It’s no good just being on the tour and collecting the kit,” said Haskell, who had spoken to Vunipola only hours before news of the latter’s withdrawal was released. “You want to win when given the opportunities in midweek games and then fight for that Test place. That’s when you’re truly a Lion, when you make those Test sides.”

Haskell still has clear memories of the Super Rugby season he spent with the Highlanders, based in Dunedin. “Of all the places to visit, New Zealand is one of the toughest. Everywhere you go, everyone gives you a haka.

“They say they’re welcoming you but it seems as if they’re offering you outside for a fight, from kids aged five to the OAPs. They say it’s to welcome us but it looks very much like an aggressive war dance to me. Over there they live and breathe their rugby. That’s what I found living over there. I loved it. It’s a place where rugby is the No1 priority.”

Another slice of good news came in the shape of the Lions captain Sam Warburton who says he is fully fit and ready to “crack on” for the New Zealand tour.

Warburton has not played since suffering a knee injury early last month, but he is firmly on course potentially to lead the Lions in next week’s tour opener against a Provincial Barbarians XV.

“I am fully fit, which is good,” said Warburton. “Last week in the camp in Wales I was pretty much doing everything apart from just the last little bit of contact stuff.

“But today I trained fully. We did full contact, and I was absolutely fine. That’s is all the boxes ticked, and now I can crack on.

“We’ve only had one day here, but we can run pretty much two lineouts and get some team stuff going.

“We can do it all fully-loaded. All the boys are pretty much up to the speed. We can start building some momentum.”