Ronald Koeman has urged James McCarthy to ignore his latest Republic of Ireland call-up to continue his injury rehabilitation at Everton.
McCarthy was included in Martin O’Neill’s provisional 37-man squad for his country’s World Cup qualifier with Austria despite struggling with injury.
The midfielder’s selection for last month’s games with Georgia and Moldova despite failing to feature with the Blues for six games due to a groin problem.
And Koeman has reaffirmed his view that McCarthy, 26, should focus on returning to full fitness instead of making himself available for the trip to Vienna.
He said: “The player is not fit. The player is not involved in team sessions.
“I think to have a call-up, he needs to be close to being fit. But it’s a little bit the same story [of] what happened last time.
“My advice to James is stay here, do training and be fit as soon as possible. But the final decision is by the player.”
We spoke about what’s the best, what we want and what I want.
“And I think finally the player, by himself, is the same – he likes to play for Everton and play likes to play well for Everton,” added Koeman.
“Of course you get your call for the international team but it starts by playing for Everton.
“I think also the player by himself learned ot of what happened last time when he was overloaded and got another injury.
“The best for everybody is first to be fit, train with your club and you’re ready for the national team and not vice versa.
“It’s always difficult because the player is between Ireland and Everton but I think, first of all, you have to do what is the best for your club.
“If you’re fit, of course, you play for your nation. But in his situation, he needs to be fit first. If not, he will struggle again and I don’t expect that.”