ESSEX are waiting to see if Harbhajan Singh's call up to the Indian World Twenty20 squad will mean the player misses the back end of the domestic season.
The off-spinner could be needed for a pre-tournament training camp ahead of the competition which is taking place in Sri Lanka, starting on September 18.
Essex's final games of the season against Yorkshire finishes only four days earlier.
"We're just waiting to find out when he's got to go back," said Essex's head coach, Paul Grayson.
"If it's a little bit earlier or not, we're not sure at the moment.
"Hopefully he can stay for the rest of the season and help push us up the table because there's no doubt that since he's come in he's helped the team enormously."
The Indian has taken a total of 23 wickets in eight games for Essex, returning his best figures of 5-37 in Sunday's 117-run victory at Colchester against the Netherlands. But hopes of qualification for the semi-finals of the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition are over as Essex now can't finish in the second luck losers spot.
The only hope of success this season remains promotion out of LV> County Championship Division Two. Last week's high scoring draw against Glamorgan didn't really help their cause and Hampshire, in second place, are now 25 points in front with three games remaining against Derbyshire, Hamsphire and Yorkshire.
"We know we're going to have to beat them (Hampshire) down at the Rose Bowl in a couple of weeks' time," said Grayson.
"There's three games to go and we start up at Derbyshire next week and they haven't had a win for a while, they look like they're going to go up but anything can change very quickly in four day cricket - I'm looking for a massive effort now."
One bright spot from last week's draw was a career best from Tom Westley who hit 185 as Essex complied a mammoth 520-9 in response to the visitors' 438 all out.
Grayson said: "Tom's always had a lot of ability with the bat and the talent to play all the shots that you ask players to play, he can cut, he can drive, he can pull, he plays spin well. I think in the past he's just struggled putting the innings together and he's started to do that more this year."
But try as they might, at one stage Glamorgan were 63-4, Essex just couldn't take the wickets they needed for victory. Jim Allenby hit a century as they closed on 260-6.
"We tried everything," said Grayson. "I thought our bowlers put a really good effort in, particularly Harbhajan who was outstanding, and a little bit more lady luck and he could have bowled them out on the last day."
Dave Masters is expected to be fit after discovering his side injury wasn't as bad as first feared.
Essex's leading wicket-taker has only bruised his side rather than a strain.
