Lions coach Sir Clive Woodward insists Matt Dawson is still in the running for a place in the 2005 squad. New England coach Andy Robinson dropped Dawson from the Elite Player Squad after the scrum-half missed a training session to film Question of Sport.
But Woodward told Five Live that Dawson is still part of his planning for next year's Lions tour of New Zealand.
"I'm going to pick the very best players and Matt hasn't retired from international rugby," said Woodward.
The former England coach has admitted he is unlikely to call on players who are not playing at international level, which would rule out the likes of Martin Johnson and Lawrence Dallaglio. "I want players to be playing for their country," said Woodward, speaking to BBC Radio Five Live at the launch of the new Lions shirt.
"I'm not close enough to know the details of the situation but you have to respect the decision of the guy in charge - and I totally respect Andy's decision."
Woodward insists he is in no hurry to appoint a captain for the tour, despite speculation that Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll had already been approached about the job.
 |  The whole squad must know the captain will always be in the Test line-up |
With injury again keeping England skipper Jonny Wilkinson on the sidelines and Scotland's Gordon Bulloch and Wales' Gareth Thomas new to international captaincy, Woodward is happy to wait until the end of next year's RBS Six Nations Championship. "The identity of the Lions captain is very, very important and is one of the things I'm thinking about," he said.
"I'll talk to the national coaches about their views on the captaincy.
"The captain is key but we have to wait to see the players' form before making any decisions.
"The biggest thing about the captain is the guy has to deserve his place in the team - that is absolutely critical.
"People get injured and lose form so it would be wrong to ink in a captain until you've seen the guys in action during the autumn internationals and the Six Nations.
"It doesn't matter if he comes from the backs or the forwards. It's down to personality. The biggest thing is the whole squad must know the captain will always be in the Test line-up. "Then you start looking at all the other aspects of leadership. It's a very important role in terms of bringing the four nations together.
"You have to get it right and there's no rush to pick someone."
Woodward has already sent his team manager Louise Ramsay to New Zealand to work out the logistics of the tour.
"It's important to put all the detail in place to give the players every chance to be successful," he added.
"Louise is over there now so I'm very confident all the detail will be put in place.
"The Lions is different - it's special and we want to make sure we maintain that history. But we also want to go there and win."
MMIX
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