The match was stopped for six minutes while North received treatment amid fears he had suffered a serious injury and could face a lengthy spell on the sidelines, throwing his RBS 6 Nations participation into jeopardy.

But the scans revealed no major damage with Scarlets medical chief Andrew Walker revealing that North could be back in action as early as this Saturday to face Leinster, well before Wales’ first RBS 6 Nations clash with Ireland on February 2.

Walker told Wales Online: “George’s symptoms were as if he had a serious spinal injury so we always take the precautionary route in those cases.

“He was put on a spinal board as a precaution. Fortunately, the scan and x-rays he had were clear so we are just dealing with some soft tissue trauma at the moment.

“Whether he turns around for this week is a possibility. We haven't ruled him out yet. We'll see how he goes in the next few days.”