Wales coach Warren Gatland fears for the career of winger George North after saying that he’s one or two more injuries away from forced retirement.
North will pick up his 50th Welsh cap on Saturday as Wales travel to the Aviva Stadium to take on Ireland in their second World-Cup warm-up match.
Gatland has now said to the BBC that North’s health is the number one priority: “It’s not about Wales as a team; it’s the individual who is the most important thing. It’s his health and making sure that’s at the forefront of our decision-making.”
“I did express concerns recently that we’ve got to make sure things are right because if he does pick up one or two more serious knocks that could be the end of his career.”
North hasn’t played since his serious head knock in this year’s Six Nations. To follow up on his concussion against Ireland in March, the 23-year-old suffered several head injuries last season whilst playing for Northampton Saints and Wales which is also a cause for concern.
“He’s followed all the medical protocols and we were very conservative in the way we approached and made sure that his welfare was paramount,” Gatland said.
“Fingers crossed, but when you play this game it’s physical. I don’t think there’s any player at this level who hasn’t had a knock of some nature that hasn’t jolted them a little bit.
“That’s what happens in the game at this level and sometimes some players are more susceptible to it than others.”
After Saturday’s match in Dublin, Wales have one more warm-up game against Italy in Cardiff on the 5th of September before starting their World Cup campaign against Uruguay in the Welsh capital on the 20th September.
