Speaking to the press following last night’s 4-1 win, Eddie Howe has offered an injury update ahead of Sunday’s clash with Southampton.
He’s revealed that Joelinton had a hamstring complaint before the game and will be assessed, also keeping his fingers crossed that Sean Longstaff is OK after he was unable to continue.
The boss seems hopeful on both, however his comments on Allan Saint-Maximin were less encouraging, with the winger ruled out of this weekend’s game.
Howe insists there’s been no setback, but suggested he could also miss next Sunday’s clash with Arsenal, refusing to say if he’d even play again this season. Rotation will be on the cards again, it seems, as Howe plans to pick players who are ‘100% fit’ ahead of our third game in seven days.
Here’s what the 45-year-old had to say on all of the above, starting with his update on ASM:
“Maxi won’t be fit. He won’t be available for Sunday, maybe the game after (against Arsenal on May 7), but no guarantee at this moment.”
“I certainly hope he’ll be fit (to play again this season), but with hamstring injuries there’s always that element of doubt.
“There’s not been a setback, he just needs to build his fitness levels up and make sure he’s fit before he comes back.”
Howe on Longstaff’s withdrawal:
“In the end, he said he needed to come off, so fingers crossed it’s not too bad.”
Howe on Joelinton’s hamstring:
“He had a feeling in his hamstring pre-game. A little bit of tiredness, but he assured me he was fine. Fingers crossed he’s OK (for Southampton)”
Howe on rotation this weekend:
“I’ll probably assess the squad, see how everyone is physically.
“I think the big thing for me in this period of games is trying to pick players that I feel are 100 per cent fit, not take chances with players if I have a squad.
“If I have a choice between two, I will always pick the fitter player, or the player I consider to be fresher.”
