Sussex have set Ed Joyce a deadline to decide whether he will return to Hove next summer.

Joyce is out of contract and strongly suggested at the start of the season that he would be leaving Sussex to return to Ireland with his family.

Head coach Mark Davis says negotiations are ongoing with the Ireland batsman but needs an answer soon as he makes plans for next season.

Davis said: “We’re not 100 per cent sure what Ed is doing yet. We have asked him to give us an answer by the start of next month as it is quite tricky to plan ahead until we know whether he is going to play or not.

“We’d love him to stay because he is a quality player but we don’t want to miss out on somebody else while we are waiting for his decision.”

Joyce turned 38 last month and missed the final two Championship matches of the season due to a knee injury which also kept him out of Ireland’s tour of South Africa.

Despite only featuring in 12 of Sussex’s 16 games in division two the left-hander still passed 1,000 Championship runs and finished with an average of 64.12.

Joyce is set to have an operation on his knee this month with Davis admitting Sussex would consider a deal which lets him fly in from Ireland just to play Championship games.

Davis added: “Ed’s body is not what it used to be. He is probably going to stop playing 50-over cricket and he already doesn’t play Twenty20 so there is a possibility he could just come over for Championship matches but we’ll have to see how things develop.

“Ideally we need players who can feature in all formats otherwise it is very hard to get the balance of the squad right but obviously Ed is a fantastic four-day player. He is still one of the best batsmen in the country but there are other factors to consider.”