Henson should return to action for the Ospreys against Borders

Henson has been named at full-back by the Ospreys to face Borders in the Celtic League on Friday and then hopes to return to Wales' Six Nations squad.

Henson, who usually plays at centre, may also have to regain the trust of the Wales team-mates he criticised in his recent autobiography.

"Everyone knows I went in and made the apologies I needed to," Henson said.

"I don't think there's a problem there. I know all the Ospreys players and the Wales players are OK with me, and it would be nice to meet up with the Wales squad because it's been a long time."

Henson returned from last summer's Lions tour to New Zealand with a groin injury that required surgery.

Soon after returning to action, he picked up a 72-day ban for elbowing Leicester's Alex Moreno in a Heineken Cup match in December.

I want to focus on achieving the same performance levels that I produced last season for the Ospreys Gavin Henson

That suspension was reduced on appeal, but Henson has still played very little rugby this season.

"I can't wait to get back out on the field now and see where I'm at. I've only played three games this season," he said.

"The injury was the worst point because I couldn't train with the team, but when the (elbowing) incident happened I thought I'd get off with a week or two because it wasn't too bad.

"It was an accidental elbow, it wasn't meant - I wasn't even looking at the player. To get a 10-week ban was a hell of a shock.

"Luckily we got it down to seven on appeal, otherwise I wouldn't be playing until April or May and that's the end of the season."

Henson is now looking to put in a good enough performance to persuade Wales caretaker coach Scott Johnson to select him for the match in Ireland on 26 February.

"Much of the discussion at the moment seems to be about my involvement with the Wales team but I really want to just focus on achieving the same performance levels that I produced last season for the Ospreys," Henson added.

"Hopefully that will then be good enough for Wales if and when the time comes."

Wales skipper Gareth Thomas celebrates beating Scotland

"But the important thing is that I'm playing for the Ospreys and performing for them.

"Hopefully it'll be good enough to try and force my way back into the Wales set-up - but my main priority is the Ospreys."

While Ian Evans and Dafydd Jones have continued to train with the Wales squad through their bans, Henson was granted leave.

"It was great to see Wales beat Scotland, as I watched the England game (a 47-13 defeat at Twickenham) at the airport in South Africa on my way back from holiday," Henson said.

"It depressed me after the way we won the Grand Slam last year, but it turned around on Sunday and it looks a bit better now and we've got a lot more confidence going into the Dublin match.

"It was a good thing having a break because I had seven weeks off and it's like Groundhog Day - turning up to the same place, same gym, training as hard as you can twice a day.

"It was nice to go away but I wasn't lying on the beach all day - I was training in the gym in the hotel and doing my work out there."