The 29-year-old signed a three-month deal in October which is set to expire towards the end of January.
McFadden has had very little first-team involvement since joining the club on a Bosman deal.
The offer of only a short term deal was for him to prove his fitness after a couple of injury-prone years, as much as anything else.
But despite being available in recent weeks he has played only the last five minutes of the defeat at Man United and the last half-hour of the defeat at Liverpool.
Martin O’Neill: “I haven’t spoken to James yet about his future.
“I think he has been unlucky in terms of his appearances but I think he knew that to begin with – that really his favourite positions in the team are areas where I feel we are pretty strongly catered for.
“The areas where he would most make impact are areas where I feel we are fairly decent,
“How has he been around the place?
“The lads tell me he has been excellent.
“He will probably be a bit frustrated because he probably feels he is fit now and he’s probably just looking for that opportunity.”
CONTACT ME: elainecraven@mistermessy.co.uk