THE British and Irish Lions could have a clean bill of health heading into Saturday’s first Test against South Africa.

Only full-back Rob Kearney is unavailable for the Lions’ next game – an appointment with the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth tomorrow.

Kearney suffered a dead leg during the 26-23 victory over Western Province on Saturday but he is expected to regain fitness in days.

Scotland scrum-half Mike Blair, meanwhile, faces a late test on his ankle to determine whether or not he will be ready for Port Elizabeth.

But Lions doctor Gary O’Driscoll has delivered an upbeat overall assessment as the tourists hurtle headlong towards the business end of their 10-match trip.

‘‘Rob Kearney took a knee straight into his left thigh that has given him a dead leg. It was the sensible thing to take him off,’’ said O’Driscoll.

‘‘He has a full range of movement in the thigh today, and the initial signs are he should be available for later in the week.

‘‘Mike Blair has a very mild sprain. The coaching staff have given us until Tuesday morning to do a final fitness test, so there is every chance he will be available for then.’’ O’Driscoll also played down any concerns surrounding Blair’s fellow squad scrum-halves Harry Ellis and Mike Phillips.

England international Ellis has a mild chest infection, while Test number nine favourite Phillips has been suffering from bruising and stiffness in his lower back.

‘‘We’ve screened all three scrum-halves and subsequently had a meeting with the coaches,’’ added O’Driscoll.

‘‘From our point of view, there is not a single one of them (scrum-half) that we wouldn’t be happy to say will be available for the weekend. With regard to the Test, we would be very confident the scrum halves would be fit.’’