Chris Birchall's international exploits this summer have left him exhausted ahead of the season. Port Vale manager Martin Foyle said the Trinidad and Tobago midfielder was "mentally shattered" after spending much of the close season on international duty. He added Birchall would have a fight on his hands to command a regular first-team place if he was travelling back and forth playing for club and country.
"Chris is still complaining he's mentally shattered," said Foyle. "With him it's a bit of a waiting game - we are not 100 per cent sure what we want to do.
"It's very hard to be in Trinidad all summer - hot weather, different eating habits and sleeping habits, and he's come back shattered.
"I want him for the whole season. If we burn him out and he breaks down we lose out. He still has another three trips to Trinidad in the next three months, so we'll have to be very careful."
Following the summer captures of Danny Sonner, Tony Dinning, Hector Sam and Mickey Bell, Foyle believes he has quality cover in every position. And he warns Birchall could find it difficult to reclaim his place when he comes back from international duty.
"I haven't had a lot of Chris on the training pitch this pre-season, so in terms of getting into our team pattern, he probably hasn't seen enough."