CHERRIES midfielder Harry Arter insisted he would have no time to rest having kicked off preparations for the biggest season of his career.

Arter is working to ensure he stays in peak condition for Republic of Ireland’s summer internationals after being named in Martin O’Neill’s 33-man provisional squad.

Ireland face England in a friendly before welcoming Scotland to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium for a Euro 2016 qualifier at the start of June.

And the midfielder, voted player of the season by Cherries supporters, is hoping his time away will give him an edge ahead of the club’s maiden voyage in the Premier League.

Arter told the club website: “This is the start of my pre-season. If I didn’t do anything now, there’s a chance I could go away and pick up a little injury.

“It’s important to get that out of the way now and look forward to training with Ireland and I think it will give me a good start going to pre-season.

“With a couple of games as well, it will stand me in good stead for when I come back.”