Scotland's Tim Visser could be in line for a call-up to the British and Irish Lions tour as a replacement for Ireland back Tommy Bowe, who suffered a suspected broken bone in his hand during yesterday's victory over Queensland Reds.

The Lions have already lost props Cian Healy (ankle ligaments) and Gethin Jenkins (calf-muscle strain). They will both fly home today, while their replacements Alex Corbisiero and Scotland's Ryan Grant have already arrived in Australia.

Bowe has become the latest casualty, and confirmation of his tour exit is likely imminently. "It doesn't look too good with Tommy at the moment," Lions head coach Warren Gatland said. "It looks like he has broken a bone in his hand and probably needs an operation."

Asked if that meant the end of Bowe's tour, Gatland added: "I would say so. We probably will bring out [a replacement]. Tommy, the experience he brings, and being able to play right-wing, left-wing, centre and full-back – he is a big loss for us."

Another Irishman, Simon Zebo, and young Englishman Christian Wade, along with Dutch-born Scottish wing Visser, are the men most likely to make the trip.

Bowe had overcome an injury in time to be selected for the Lions squad, and his form on tour made him a near-certainty for the first Test team against Australia at the same ground as yesterday's match on June 22 – but those hopes now appear to have been dashed.

Centre Manu Tuilagi, meanwhile, went off with a shoulder injury, but Gatland said: "Manu got a little bit of a stinger in his shoulder, just a bit of a dead arm. He lost a bit of feeling in his arm."

Reflecting on the victory, Gatland said: "The game was exactly what we wanted. It was a reminder to the players what it means to an opposition team, playing against the Lions. They came out 100 miles per hour in the first 20 minutes and we soaked up the pressure.

"We gutsed it out and came away with the win, and I am very pleased with the performance."

In reference to Owen Farrell, who kicked 17 points, the head coach said: "His composure and goalkicking was excellent, he ran well and was strong defensively. The thing you admire about Owen, given his age, is he has got that competitive edge, he goes away, thinks about it and improves each performance."

Having outscored the Lions two-to-one on tries, the Reds had plenty of reasons to take positives from the defeat and skipper Quade Cooper was delighted with the commitment that his team-mates showed, particularly in a whirlwind start capped by a breathtaking early try from wing Luke Morahan.

"We wanted to run them around as much as possible and try to keep the tempo up. That was our intent throughout the game," he said. "We left everything out on the park. The effort, the attitude shown, that's the kind of attitude you need. We showed a way of putting the Lions under pressure, and we enjoy playing that style of rugby."

The tourists, preserving their 100% record, were given a punishing work-out. After scoring 128 points and 17 tries in battering the Barbarians and walloping Western Force, they had to dig much deeper yesterday. Scrum-half Ben Youngs claimed a close-range touchdown, with Farrell scoring the remainder of the points.

The Reds' other touchdown came from scrum-half Nick Frisby, while Cooper kicked one conversion in front of an enthralled 50,000 crowd.

In a ferocious start, the hosts were hell-bent on moving possession wide and at pace, yet the Lions showed signs of scrum and line-out dominance that underpinned Farrell's opening penalty strike after 14 minutes.

Morahan, though, then scored one of the greatest individual tries of any Lions tour when he produced a stunning 70-metre break past several opponents.

Cooper converted, but a second Farrell penalty narrowed the gap to a point. The Lions then claimed their opening try, resulting from Youngs robbing Reds No 8 Jake Schatz of possession at a scrum five metres out and sniping over.

Farrell added the extras, before slotting his third penalty as a pulsating first half drew to a close. A fourth followed 10 minutes into the second period, and with rain making conditions difficult for both sides, the Lions adopted a more pragmatic approach.

Frisby scored a second try for the Reds 16 minutes from time, but Cooper missed a simple conversion attempt, meaning the Lions had a seven-point advantage to cling to as they closed out a win which was sealed by Farrell's fifth penalty three minutes from time.

Of the Scots in the team, Stuart Hogg fared best despite being the youngest player on tour, while Richie Gray contributed to the Lions' set-piece dominance in a difficult afternoon for the pack.

Reds: Lucas, Davies, Tapuai, A. Faingaa, Morahan, Cooper, Frisby, Daley, Hanson, Holmes, Wallace-Harrison, O'Donoghue, Quirk, Robinson, Schatz. Replacements: Anae, Denny, Owen, Samo, Butler, Lance, Harris, Shipperley.

British & Irish Lions: Hogg, Cuthbert, Tuilagi, Davies, Bowe, Farrell, B Youngs, Vunipola, T. Youngs, Stevens, Gray, Parling, Lydiate, Warburton, Faletau. Replacements: Hibbard, Cole, A. Jones, O'Connell, Tipuric, Murray, Sexton, North.

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa).