Wales head coach Warren Gatland has admitted to being concerned over the future of George North, due to the Northampton Saints winger's recent injury absence.

The 23-year-old suffered a third concussion in the space of four months at the end of March when being knocked unconscious in his club side's 52-30 defeat against Wasps.

Saints attack coach Alex King revealed earlier this week that he expects North to make a return to action prior to the end of the season, although Gatland has urged the Aviva Premiership leaders to think carefully about throwing him back into action.

"I am hugely worried," the Red Dragons coach is quoted as saying by The Telegraph. "I had a meeting with his agent during the week and I said 'Look if I was being purely selfish I would say: 'George don't play in the last few games, get yourself right for the World Cup', because if he gets another knock he is going to have to be out for six months or a year or something like that.

"So that is a concern. If he is feeling confident about getting back and wanting to get on the park and play some rugby, then that's a decision he is going to make.

"He's been out for a considerable amount of time but it's one of those situations where he's such a young player if he picks up two or three more of those in the next year, that's going to finish his career, isn't it?"

North was also knocked out in Wales's Six Nations defeat against England earlier this year, but remained on the field as the incident went unseen by coaching and medical staff.