Comment: Nacer Chadli's absence in Austria an ominous sign

For the past week the players have only been given a football in the final session of each day, following an early-morning fitness test and an afternoon strength and conditioning workout, so they will be delighted to get back over the white line.

But their opponents, Slavia Prague, and the location, a 1,000-capacity stadium in the small town of Kumberg, is in-keeping with the secretive, low-key start to preparations.

Tony Pulis refused to allow any media access to his fitness camp near Irdning, which is as much a team-bonding retreat as it is a base for the season ahead.

It is an intense week of 24/7 contact time where the Albion head coach discovers more about the mentality of his players, and whether they have the sort of character he can trust to put in his starting XI.

Which is why Nacer Chadli’s decision to sit out the entire week looks ominous. Even though he has promised to keep himself fit in the mean-time, he will not have done triple sessions to the same level of the rest of the squad.

Regardless of his physique, the damage it has done to his relationship with Pulis may be the most difficult to repair.

There is no appetite among the board to sell Chadli, who can be, on his day, the most technically gifted attacker in the side.

But it is a long way back for the £13million man, who will head off to Hong Kong with plenty to prove to Pulis – who has, incidentally, just signed a player in Jay Rodriguez that can do Chadli’s job on the left.

Pulis puts so much emphasis on this week in the hills that he dragged Sam Field out of England’s under-19s squad ahead of the European Championships.

Keith Downing’s team beat Germany 4-1 in the quarter-finals and face the Czech Republic today for a chance to play in the final. Field, though, will be playing the Czech champions instead.

If the teenager can give up the hope of glory, and exiled winger Callum McManaman can run up hills, knowing full-well he’s not in Pulis’s plans and hasn’t been for nearly two years, then so can Chadli.

But the Belgian isn’t in Austria, so today’s game won’t give us much clue to how much damage has been done. Not that it would anyway.

Pulis played plenty of youngsters in this corresponding fixture against Paris Saint-Germain last season; it is a match more about fitness than finding a first XI.

But we might see something near his first choice team because he simply doesn’t have that many players to rotate.

The Rodriguez signing looks an astute one, but there’s no escaping the fact Albion still have just 14 senior outfield players Pulis will use next season (the 15th being McManaman).

The mood among supporters after a top 10 finish in the first season under new ownership should be one of anticipation and excitement.

But the worryingly thin squad is hanging over fans like a cloud, and it grows darker as each day goes past.

Albion struggle to do early business in the window for a number of reasons. Guochuan Lai has not plunged mountains of cash into the club, so they do not have the funds to splash big on one player, particularly when so many areas need reinforcements.

Nor do Albion have the allure of other clubs in the league, who pay more, play prettier, and are based in desirable cities like London.

Pulis’s stability is perhaps one of the biggest draws to the right sort of character seeking a steady ship, but he is also a a stubborn negotiator who loves the rush at the end of the window.

And the worry is, when so many plates are being spun, you’re in danger of letting them all crash to the floor.

There are still 50 days left in the window, so it is premature to panic, particularly when Matt Phillips, Chadli, Jake Livermore, and Rodriguez have all been added in the past 12 months.

But with the full ramifications of Chadli’s decision yet to be determined, and other clubs sniffing around star man Jonny Evans, there is some cause for concern.

Playing games will take the mind off the window, but not for long.