Eddie Howe has been speaking to the media in the last few moments, offering an update on the injury front ahead of tomorrow’s trip to the Etihad.
The good news is that Anthony Gordon “partly trained” yesterday and will train again today. Howe will make a late call on his availability, but it sounds like he could now make our FA Cup quarter-final at Man City following his England call-up.
The not-so-good news is on Nick Pope. He was initially tipped to return early next month, but Howe revealed this morning that he’s expecting our No 1 to be back at the “end of April” now, reducing his hopes of playing a key role in our run-in.
Harvey Barnes is out of tomorrow’s match but should return for our home game with West Ham in two weeks time, while Sean Longstaff has been playing with a foot problem and had injections last week to manage the pain.
Howe on Gordon – “It was a strange one because when you watch it back you fear it’s a serious injury. He partly trained yesterday. We didn’t do a great deal due to the schedule this week but he joined in and it’s great news for us. [Will he be fit for City?] We’ll train again today and make a judgement after that.”
Howe on Barnes – “Harvey won’t make the squad but hopefully he will back for West Ham.”
Howe on Pope – “April is his target, but I think that will be more towards the end of April than the beginning but he’s making good, solid progress. He’s out on the grass but not necessarily diving. That will be a big test for his shoulder and it’s the next stage. Then, of course, he will have to get his sharpness back. He’s entering into the final furlong in terms of his comeback but he’s still got a lot of hurdles to go through.”
Elsewhere, Joelinton and Callum Wilson remained sidelined following surgery. The former is unlikely to return until May and Kieran Trippier (calf) could be back for West Ham after the international break.
