New York Red Bulls star Rafael Marquez will undergo a week of training with Mexican Primera Division outfit Club Atlas.

The Mexican defender/midfielder will keep fit with the Guadalajara-based club, starting Monday, before linking up with the Red Bulls when they visit Mexico for their pre-season schedule.

"Rafa expressed his desire to our head coach Hans Backe to train with Atlas in Mexico," Red Bulls general manager Erik Solér said in a statement.

"While we are finalizing dates and places where we will be doing the different parts of our 2011 preseason, and as we do not have a finalized calendar, we support Rafa's desire to start preparing in anticipation of this season.

"We expect Márquez to reintegrate with the team as soon as we have the exact date of our arrival in Mexico for the first part of the preseason."