KEN OWENS TO MISS AUTUMN INTERNATIONALS

Scarlets captain Ken Owens is ruled out for 12 weeks after the region confirmed that the hooker will undergo neck surgery. 

Having captained his side in the first two rounds of the PRO12, Owens suffered a neck injury in training last week ahead of the Scarlets’ 42-0 win over Treviso. 

The region’s head coach Wayne Pivac said: "It's a shame for both Ken on a personal level and the team as a whole that he will require surgery on the injury he received earlier last week to his neck.

 "Ken had been playing well but the focus now is to get see him through the surgery and get him back here with us for rehabilitation. We're very pleased to have Emz (Emyr Phillips) step straight in there and play like that (against Benetton Treviso).”

 “Following thorough investigations the scans have confirmed the he's injured a disc in his neck,” stated head of performance Andrew Walker. 

 "After a thorough process, involving consultations with three neck specialists, we have decided that surgery is the best course of action.”

The 26 times capped Welsh international will also miss the autumn test

series against Southern Hemisphere sides Fiji, New Zealand and South
Africa.