Stuart Hogg may have lost sight if he stayed with the British & Irish Lions

British and Irish Lions' Stuart Hogg is set to return to Scotland. Picture: David Davies/PA Wire.

Warren Gatland has revealed medics warned Stuart Hogg could have risked losing his sight if he suffered another bang on top of his cheek injury.

Scotland's Stuart Hogg ruled out of British and Irish Lions tour

Scotland full-back Hogg will miss the rest of the British and Irish Lions tour after sustaining a “facial bone fracture” during Saturday’s 12-3 win over the Crusaders.

Hogg collided unwittingly with Conor Murray’s elbow as the Ireland scrum-half sought to let the Glasgow star launch a counter-attack in the first half of the Crusaders clash.

The Lions hope they will not need to call up a replacement, but head coach Gatland admitted they canvassed four specialists before ruling Hogg out of the rest of the New Zealand tour.

“It was just a freak accident,” Gatland told Sky Sports.

“He’s absolutely gutted. We’re feeling for him.

“We saw about four different specialists: one of them said he’d be alright and another said it’s potentially serious and that he could lose his sight if he plays.

“We told him it was only a game of rugby and he understood that.”

Without Hogg the Lions suffered their second loss on the tour, going down 23-22 to the Highlanders.