Operation required for Turnbull

He injured in shoulder in domestic action for the Scarlets against Connacht earlier this month and it has now been decided that surgery is required, ruling him out of the first four rounds of this season's Heineken Cup.

"Josh has been managing a shoulder problem for the last year," revealed Scarlets boss Nigel Davies.

"It has progressively got worse and got to a stage where he needs an operation and will be out for three months.

"It has been gradual and got to the stage that if he takes another bump, he could dislocate his shoulder.

"We can't afford that to happen because he would be out for a longer period.

"We are trying to nip it in the bud and the medical advice is we have no other option.

"It is a big blow and it was great to have him back from the World Cup provisional squad.

"He is a key player that we have invested heavily in over the last couple of years and we would have liked to have him available to us now."

Turnbull will miss games against Castres Olympique and Northampton Saints in November as well as back-to-back fixtures against Munster.

Meanwhile, Scarlets captain Matthew Rees is hoping to return to action before the end of October after recovering from neck surgery which ruled him out of the Rugby World Cup.