Huge Update Regarding George North And His Fitness

Wales & Northampton winger George North is set to return action on Friday after a long-running saga surrounding his suspected concussion earlier this month.

The Lions star has been the subject of an ongoing investigation following a suspected head injury in a Premiership game against Leicester a few weeks back. North looked to be knocked unconscious in the game but returned minutes later, sparking a huge backlash on his club.

North was later stood down from playing by the Saints amid an inquiry by a three-man Concussion Management Review Group into how the incident was handled. The group’s findings are expected to be published today, but Northampton’s Director of Rugby, Jim Mallinder has said North has returned to training.

Northampton play Sale on Friday, and North will play some part according to Mallinder.

“He’s back in training and he should be available to play against Sale,” said Mallinder.

“As I said he’s been training (on Tuesday), he’s had a bit of time off and he’s feeling really good about himself, he’s looking really sharp out there and he’s looking forward to playing.

“George is actually going back to the specialists, just to check again that everything’s okay.

“I’m not making decisions on whether he plays or not, that’s out of my hands.

“That’s down to the trained professionals to make the right judgements.

“And surely there’s no better people to make those correct decisions.”

Should North return to to action this weekend or should the Premiership side be giving him a longer break given his history?