Byrne was banned for two weeks after the Ospreys had 16 men on the field for a brief period of play in their crucial Heineken Cup group match against Leicester Tigers. The full back and Welsh coaching staff are hoping the ban will be overturned so he is available for selection against England in the Six Nations opener on Saturday.
It has been quite a selection headache for Wales as they hope to claim their fourth win over England in as many years to kick start their campaign.
Neil Jenkins said: “It’s not always easy, but we fully support Lee. It would be nice to get him off and if he is ready to play on Saturday then that would be great. But if not James [Hook] has been playing particularly well at 15 and we are lucky to have such a quality player of his standard to come in if that’s the case.
“Lee brings everything – he is a fantastic kicker, a communicator, brilliant under the high ball and hits great lines. He is an excellent rugby player.
“He is a British Lion as well so he brings an awful lot to us as a player. He is a big player for us and it would be nice to have him in.”
Teammate and likely starter at open side flanker, Martyn Williams said: “We trained Saturday with two back lines, it’s not ideal but hopefully it will be sorted as soon as possible.
“You feel for Lee because he is a good footballer – if you lose your place in the Wales side you won’t necessarily get it back.”
If not available Wales look set to play Hook at full back while the autumn centre partnership of Jonathan Davies and Jamie Roberts will remain. If he is made available, Warren Gatland will have to decide whether to move Hook to inside player or leave the unsettled Osprey on the bench.
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