By Dan Bennett (@DanDBennett97)
Eddie Howe has three new injury concerns to worry about for the game against Hull on Saturday but remains optimistic after seeing his side put together a good run of form recently.
Cherries have managed to pick up seven points from their last four games and despite a 4-0 loss away to Manchester City, have picked up significant home wins against West Brom and Everton and an impressive point away to Watford.
However Howe has revealed that three members of his squad were injured whilst on international duty in the past two weeks with one being a particular long term concern, though he refused to give the names of the players injured until after this weekend’s game.
Howe said: “The reality is that players love playing for their country and rightly so, so from the players’ perspective they’re all keen to go and progress their careers.
“I have different thoughts because my job is solely this club and the only worry from my perspective when players leave here is how they’re going to come back and unfortunately this two week period has been difficult for us.”
Harry Arter also remains a doubt for the game with a hamstring problem whist Marc Pugh remains sidelined after he too injured his hamstring.
Cherries come up against a Hull side who have this week confirmed the permanent appointment of Mike Phelan as their new manager after a temporary spell in charge following the departure of Steve Bruce.
Phelan’s Hull however will be looking for big improvements after losing four of their last five league games in what has been a tough run of fixtures for the newly promoted side, facing the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool. Though they will have to do without striker Diemerci Mbokani and defender Michael Dawson who miss out through injury.
Speaking about this weekend’s opposition, Howe said: “I think the most impressive thing about the job that Mike Phelan’s done in this short period of time is how he’s impacted their play. I think they play good football, they’re an attractive team to watch. I’ve been very impressed when I’ve watched them so we’re under no illusions about the difficulty of the game.”
Should Bournemouth seal a victory, they could move into the top half of the table and give manager Eddie Howe something to celebrate about on a week which marks four years since he returned to the club as manager after leaving Burnley.