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Owen Farrell 'will be called up to the Lions squad' by his father Andy, the head coach for the ongoing tour of Australia.
In a surprising and controversial development, the 33-year-old fly-half is set to fly out to join his team-mates and replace Elliot Daly.
Daly suffered a suspected broken arm in the Lions' 52-12 defeat of the Queensland Reds on Wednesday and the injury is anticipated to keep him out for the rest of the tour.
Despite Daly covering different positions, Farrell is to be his replacement, according to the Telegraph.
They report that the Lions will confirm the news shortly, if the results of the X-ray on Daly are as expected.
This will be Farrell's fourth Lions tour and he will bring a vast amount of experience into the group. His form for Racing 92 in France was patchy this season, one of the main reasons he originally missed out on selection.
Owen Farrell (right), pictured working as pundit for the Lions' Argentina game, has been called up to the squad by his head coach father, Andy (centre)
The father-son duo are pictured back in 2017 on the Lions tour of New Zealand
The first Test against the Wallabies is on July 19 and there are three warm-up games remaining, although the next one on Saturday against the Waratahs is likely to come too soon.
Farrell stopped playing international rugby for England in 2023, having been booed by fans during the World Cup in France.
His season with Racing 92 was blighted by injury and he never hit his previous heights.
The veteran will be returning to Saracens for the next campaign, the club at which he made his name and became one of the world's best No 10s.
When asked about the possibility of being called up recently, he certainly did not close the door: 'I can’t say. It is all very hypothetical, isn’t it?
'A lot would need to happen, and I need to make sure I am ready to go if that does come around. That is the only point that matters,' he said.
Backs such as Tom Jordan and Jamie Osbourne may feel hard done by given they can cover the same positions as injured Daly.
Elliot Daly is expected to be confirmed as out of the rest of the tour with a broken arm
Farrell has been called up despite not playing the same position as injured Daly
Farrell had an underwhelming season with Racing 92 in France and is not in top form
But the head coach insisted: 'No, we’ve got loads of full-backs. Hugo (Keenan) will be OK tomorrow or the next day and Blair’s (Kinghorn) ready to go.'
The front-runners for the first Test at No 10 are Finn Russell and Fin Smith and it would be a huge shock if Farrell was able to usurp them in such a short space of time.
That said, if an injury crisis strikes, the vastly experienced fly-half would offer a steady hand on the tiller if his father requires him to step in.
