Jenkins, who will re-join the Cardiff Blues from Toulon next season, will fly home on Sunday after failing to recover from the problem which ruled him out of the first two games of the tour to Hong Kong and Australia.
The loss of Jenkins is a huge blow for head coach Warren Gatland and will also be a bitter pill to swallow for the player who had been due to start today’s tour game with the Queensland Reds before pulling out with his calf problem.
Assessing Jenkins’ situation, Lions team doctor James Robson said: “The expected time for recovery is at least three weeks.
“Given the remaining duration of the tour, we felt that Gethin should return home and continue his rehabilitation there.”
The Lions began their 10-match tour with thumping victories over the Barbarians and Western Force though Jenkins was unable to feature in either game.
And with fellow prop Cian Healy also flying home with ankle ligament damage, Gatland has been forced to call up England’s Alex Corbisiero and Scotland’s Ryan Grant to bolster his front row options.
Jenkins and Healy were expected to battle it out for the number one shirt against Australia, but they have now both been ruled out of contention a fortnight before the Test series starts.
England’s Mako Vunipola starts against the Reds this morning with the chance to stake his claim for a Test starting shirt.
