Heineken Cup
Ospreys hopeful over Byrne injury
Scrum.com
January 19, 2009
Ospreys fullback Lee Byrne runs with the ball, Ospreys v Treviso, Heineken Cup, Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Wales, December 6, 2008
Ospreys fullback Lee Byrne is expected to be confirmed as part of Warren Gatland's Wales squad for this year's Six Nations © Getty Images
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Ospreys fullback Lee Byrne will have an ankle injury assessed on Monday after hobbling out of his side's narrow Heineken Cup defeat to Perpignan on Saturday.

Both Ospreys coach Sean Holley and Wales boss Warren Gatland will be hoping for some good news ahead of the crucial Heineken Cup clash with Leicester Tigers this weekend and the forthcoming Six Nations Championship.

Ospreys physiotherapist Chris Towers offered some hope to both men commenting, "Lee's condition is much more comfortable today [Sunday] and he is able to take weight through the ankle. He will be assessed jointly by the Ospreys and Wales medical teams tomorrow and will have a scan if deemed necessary.

"The initial signs of recovery are very positive suggesting the injury may not be as severe as initially feared, and we are hopeful if his symptoms continue to improve over the next couple of days there is a chance he could still be available to face Leicester next weekend."

Gatland will announce his squad for this year's Six Nations later today with Byrne set to be confirmed as a member of the party. However if his fitness is in doubt for the Championship opener against Scotland on February 8 then the Scarlets' Morgan Stoddard, the Blues' Leigh Halfpenny, the Ospreys' Gavin Henson and the Dragons' Jason Tovey could all potentially provide cover at fullback.

"Every player will be selected on merit," said Gatland, who is expected to name a 30-man party. "It's not going to be a huge squad. We picked more in the autumn because we had the Canadian game and it was an opportunity to bring some youngsters into the fold. We will tighten up the squad again and it will be similar to last season's Six Nations. That worked well for us.

"The challenge for us as a team is to make sure we take the next step because the expectation is that we are favourites for the Six Nations," Gatland said. "We have to handle that pressure because every team is going to be gunning for us. We are the only side from the northern hemisphere to beat one of the big teams from the southern hemisphere.

"We played the best rugby and the most positive rugby. We have a fear factor of failure these days. I think the fear factor in the past for Wales may have been about getting hammered. It creates a new challenge for this team. If we are to improve this is something we have to accept. Let's not hide away from it, let's talk about it and confront the challenge."

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