Alun Wyn Jones suffered the heartbreak of seeing his Lions tour end before the plane left for South Africa as he was injured against Japan.
The Wales second row suffered a dislocated shoulder in the 28-10 win over Japan at Murrayfield.
The incident only happened seven minutes into the match, as Jones collided with James Moore in a ruck.
Coach Warren Gatland said in his post match press conference that 35 year old Jones will not be flying out to Johannesburg.
"The shoulder was dislocated, they got it back in pretty easily. We'll get it scanned, but with a dislocated shoulder it's never good news. We'll look at getting someone in pretty quickly and on the plane tomorrow.
“But it’s one of those things, you’ve got to put that behind you and move on as quickly as you possibly can."
Gatland added that a ready made replacement for Jones as skipper has not been decided upon.
“We’re discussing who to call up at the moment with the coaches, but I got called away for a press conference.”
The Kiwi believes there are enough leaders in the squad to cope with the loss of Alun Wyn Jones.
"We've got some experience, some good young blood. We've got some experience from the last couple of tours, a nice balance and a fantastic group of men.
"We've a lot of people who can fill in those roles."
Along with Jones, Ireland's Jack Conan also suffered a slight hamstring strain in the game, which saw Justin Tipuric also retire with a shoulder problem.
Robbie Henshaw and Tadhg Beirne scored tries in the victory, in which all seven Irish players started.
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