Henson has not played since suffering an ankle injury in the Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-final last March but is set to meet with Cuddy following the Ospreys' vital Heineken Cup games against Leicester and Clermont Auvergne to discuss his future.

"A lot of things have been said about Gavin and most of them are nonsense," Cuddy told The Western Mail. "I am in regular contact with him and the two of us will sit down in early February, once the Heineken Cup qualification games are out of the way.

"It has been frustrating reading some of the things that have been said. One day he was a great player, the next he was being written off. Of course, he has been sorely missed. Any team in the world would miss a player of Gavin's quality.

"But there was nothing we could do about it. His injury problems got on top of him and he decided to have a break. He is no different to any other rugby player. That is how I have treated him. We will have a chat and see what comes of it."

"I don't know how many playing days I've got left in me, but there's more than a good chance they'll be at Parc y Scarlets." he told BBC Sport. "They way I look at things at the moment is 'OK, we're in transition'. We've got good youngsters who want to be successful with a good work ethic, they make the working week enjoyable."

Ulster face Edinburgh at Ravenhill on Friday night and have confirmed that while the covers will remain on the pitch as a precaution, the thaw has begun and the game will proceed. The Saints are equally bullish about Franklin's Gardens being able to host their crunch tie with Perpignan in Pool 1, insisting that their warming kits will keep the pitch playable.