Scotland's Chris Cusiter to miss November Tests v New Zealand, South Africa and Tonga The good news within the Warriors" statement that confirmed Cusiter's predicament was that the scrum-half, who has suffered shoulder problems in the past, will not require surgery to get over the injury. Cusiter was examined by Julie McBirnie, a shoulder specialist at Spire Murrayfield Hospital in Edinburgh, whose prognosis was that the 30 year-old should be available for selection again around mid-December. If that assessment proves correct, Cusiter should have enough time left to build his form and fitness for the 2013 RBS Six Nations Championship, which kicks off for Scotland on Feb 2, when they take on England at Twickenham. However, Cusiter, who has played 62 times for his country, has endured frustrating rehabilitation periods in the past, most recently when a knee problem, initially diagnosed as minor, took him out of the game for almost a year. "Everyone at Glasgow Warriors is disappointed that a quality player like Chris Cusiter is likely to be out of action until around the middle of December," said Glasgow head coach Gregor Townsend, whose side face Connacht at Scotstoun on Friday evening with Henry Pyrgos wearing the No 9 shirt. It's encouraging, though, that he doesn't need surgery, and we know he's in the best possible hands with our medical team. Chris is a tough competitor, and he'll be working hard to return to fitness and make a significant contribution to our campaign. We wish him well with his rehab, and look forward to welcoming [Fijian halfback] Niko Matawalu to the club to supplement our options in the scrum-half position. Meanwhile, Newcastle Falcons director of rugby Dean Richards believes that former Scotland loose forward Ally Hogg deserves a recall to the Test arena after an absence of three seasons following a series of impressive performances that have helped the North-east side move to the top of the Championship, England's second-tier club competition. Richards said: "I talked to Ally about this [not being picked by Scotland] and it would be one of my goals get him a few more caps. Having looked at him play, I think he deserves it. Ally has been outstanding for us this year, he really has. He's just a great footballer, and he understands the game extremely well. I don't think people appreciate the work that he does put in. He's a natural leader as well and I think he has done extremely well here. He's got a lot of caps [48] already and he's still a young lad. I rate him very highly. The thing about him is that he can play any position in the back row and adapt to each of them really well. His understanding of the game and what is required is second to none.