North on track for early return

The Scarlets flyer had been set for a three month long spell on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a shoulder injury picked up in Wales' defeat to New Zealand in November.

That ruled him out until the end of February but North has been told he could be back playing within a matter of weeks.

The Scarlets play Connacht, Ulster and Edinburgh in the next three rounds of league action and North could feature in any of those games as he targets a late recall to the Wales RBS 6Nations squad.

"George is progressing really well and a week or two ahead of schedule at the moment," said a Scarlets spokesperson.

The West Wales region currently lie second in the Magners League, nine points adrift of pace-setters Munster but five points of fifth-placed Ospreys who are pushing for a play-off place