ALAN Curbishley asked Stuart Pearce to leave Mark Noble out of his England U21 squad to face Poland next week for fear of burnout, the Hammers boss has revealed.

The midfielder is one of several regular members to miss out on the friendly at Molineux as Pearce looks to blood new talent.

The U21's head coach has seven uncapped players in his 20-man squad and is looking to give others a chance in preparation of the European Championship qualifier with Portugal in September.

Although Noble is likely to be heavily be involved in that, for now Curbishley believes the youngster is in need of the rest.

"Some players haven't had a break all season and with the development of young players, you don't want to burn them out," he explained.

"Mark will be going off somewhere in the summer with the U21s so it's another long season for him.

"I went to see Stuart Pearce a couple of weeks ago because the last time he went away to go and play against Ireland we had to give him two days off here when he came back because he was shattered after putting so much in.

"It is a friendly, so Stuart has taken the opportunity to give him a rest."

Noble played the remaining ten games of last season for the Hammers before going on to star in all four games for his country as England reached the European U21 Championship final in June.

He has also featured in 30 games for the club this season and Curbishley has discussed with his young charge the dangers of doing too much too soon.

"We have had a couple of good chats about it because this is his first season really. He's still a young player," Curbishley said.

"He has had a long run in the side and I have left him out a couple of times, then he has looked fresh when he has come on."

And the Irons chief believes that the rest will serve the 20-year-old best in the long run, adding: "It is still a learning thing for him and it will make him stronger physically and mentally for next year.

"Mark will obviously get more football in the run-in so that when we come back next season we know we have got a player."