Eddie Howe has offered an update on injuries suffered to Kieran Trippier and Javier Manquillo when speaking to the press this morning ahead of tomorrow’s trip to West Ham.
The good news is that surgery ‘went very well’ for Trippier yesterday, while Manquillo’s ankle injury is NOT thought to be serious.
However, the bad news is that Trippier’s injury is a ‘complex’ one that Howe has refused to put a timeframe on, stating it’s a ‘significant blow’ where they hope to have him back ‘before the end of the season.’
As for Manquillo, he’s not trained all week and has been ruled out of tomorrow’s trip to the London Stadium.
Krafth is therefore likely to fill in at right-back, however Howe admits to having a few ‘welcome selection headaches’ in midfield and at centre-back, with Gumiaraes pushing for a start and a decision needing to be made on who starts between Schar, Burn and Lascelles now the skipper is back from illness.
Here’s what Howe’s had to say on all of the above, also confirming we’ve suffered no other injuries ahead of the game:
Howe on Trippier injury:
“Difficult to give you a timeframe. He was operated on yesterday and that went very well.
“But these things are quite complex and he’s going to be out for a period of time. How long that will be, we don’t know.”
“We aim to have him back before the end of the season but it’s a significant injury which is a big blow for us.”
Howe on Manquillo and other injuries:
“(Javier) Manquillo went off in the same game after landing awkwardly on his ankle following a header.
“He tried to carry on and couldn’t. He hasn’t trained this week
“We don’t think that’s serious but he will miss the (West Ham) game. Apart from that, we’re as we were.”
Howe on defensive options with Lascelles fit again and Burn impressing:
“It’s a welcome selection headache. These things are difficult for me to manage because you can only pick 11. But, I certainly welcome tough calls because it means the players are in a good place and performing well for the team.”
“I’ll have to make a decision that’s best for the team. You want a squad that’s pushing and fighting for each other – I think whoever plays knows if they don’t perform, they have a very good player waiting for their opportunity to get back in.”
Howe on Bruno Guimaraes:
“Bruno will start a lot of games for us and will be a huge player. I don’t think this period where he’s watching and learning from the Premier League is a bad thing for him although it will frustrate him because he wants to show his talent.”
