How midfielder Joe Morrell's time away on Wales international duty could benefit Portsmouth

The midfielder, 24, linked up with his Welsh team-mates yesterday ahead of upcoming friendly and World Cup qualifying matches.

Morrell's international break begins with a friendly encounter in Finland on Wednesday before Wales bid for much-needed wins against Belarus - with the game being played in Kazan, Russia - next Sunday and at home against Estonia (September 8) as they continue their bid to reach the Qatar World Cup in 2022.

But the Welshman admitted linking up with Rob Page’s men after such a short period being involved with Pompey does feel a little 'weird'.

After arriving at PO4 earlier this month, Morrell was handed a brief debut substitute appearance in the win over Crewe before starting the Blues' previous two League One matches at Doncaster and the defeat at Wigan.

However, having returned for pre-season late following his involvement with Wales at Euro 2020 and then contracting Covid-19, Morrell says he's still not been at his peak with Pompey yet.

But he insists remaining active during the international break and hopefully featuring in his national side's three matches over the next two weeks will only benefit him as he looks to be involved when Pompey return to League One action at MK Dons on September 11.

Morrell said: ‘First of all, it's always an honour to play for Wales, it's always something I really look forward to.

‘It does feel a little bit weird after only being here for two or three weeks (going away with Wales) - it's been a bit disrupted because I had Covid in pre-season and missed a bit.

‘I'm just trying to find my feet now and hopefully I can use these Wales games as a little boost to me in coming back here.

‘First and foremost, we want to win the games with Wales and personally I want to do as well as I can for my country.

‘But I think it'll benefit me (international duty), I don't think having two weeks off like some of the lads might do because I just haven't had the pre-season.

‘I feel like I'm just finding my feet now. I felt good out there today (against Wigan), I felt a lot better than last week, and I think that'll only improve.’

Morrell and his national team-mates have become accustomed to long trips across Europe in recent times, with two of Wales' four matches at this summer's Euros played in Baku, Azerbaijan.

In the latest international break, they face trips to Helsinki while their fixture against Belarus will take place in Kazan, Russia.

However, Morrell stressed travelling is just something which comes with representing your national team.

He added: ‘It's part and parcel of international football (long travels) and, unfortunately for us as the Wales national team, we've had a lot of that to deal with so we're used to it.

‘You get to see some places that you might not normally see and it's part and parcel of international football.’