Mark Cueto has been drafted into the Lions squad after England full-back Iain Balshaw was ruled out of the tour of New Zealand through injury.
Balshaw has failed to make a full recovery from the quadricep tear he suffered after four minutes of Leeds' 20-12 Powergen Cup victory over Bath on April 16.
The 26-year-old's rehabilitation has been encouraging but he is not expected to return to training for at least three more weeks.
Balshaw's place on the tour, which departs for New Zealand on May 25, goes to his England colleague Cueto who will link up with the Lions squad in Wales later today.
Cueto was a controversial omission from the original party following a blistering start to his international career which has yielded eight tries in as many appearances.
He welcomed the news and said: "This is brilliant news, although it came as bit of a shock. I was training this morning when (Sale director of rugby) Philippe Saint-Andre came over and passed on the message that I'd been selected."
"It's fantastic and the season couldn't have gone any better for me. I'll still be playing for Sale in the Challenge Cup final on Saturday."
