Bournemouth have no plans for a new striker if Jermain Defoe is ruled out, says Eddie Howe
Friday 22 December 2017 14:10, UK
Eddie Howe has long-term concerns about Jermain Defoe's ankle injury - but is unlikely to sign a new striker if he is ruled out for an extended period.
The former Sunderland forward came off 16 minutes into Bournemouth's 2-1 Carabao Cup loss to Chelsea with the problem on Wednesday.
He is seeing a specialist today and Howe is worried he will lose the 35-year-old for a number of weeks, although he maintains he has the resources to cope.
Howe also has Benik Afobe, Lys Mousset, Callum Wilson and Joshua King at his disposal, albeit the latter two are struggling for fitness and they all have just five Premier League goals between them.
Of Defoe, the Bournemouth manager said: "We are concerned it could be a more serious injury than just an ankle twist but we'll wait and see, so fingers crossed on that.
"It's difficult to speculate (on how long he'll be out for) until we get the specialist's opinion. We've got to wait for the news on that injury before we have any reaction to it.
"The beauty of it is we do have a good array of options in the striking department - five strikers are quite a lot to carry.
"Usually we play with two up front so I think that was a necessity. It would be a blow to lose Jermain for any amount of time but I think we've got the cover.
"Whoever we decide to pick, I think we've got the firepower to hurt anybody. Lys played against Chelsea and I thought he did well.
"Jordon Ibe played in a different role again and I thought he did well too. It proves we do have the quality.
"We maybe don't have the strength in depth in terms of number at the moment with the injuries but hopefully they'll be back soon."
There are a number of other players who could be out for this weekend's meeting with Manchester City, with Charlie Daniels and Harry Arter also carrying knocks.
That doesn't help Howe's cause against a team he believes his own can beat, despite Pep Guardiola's side being on a run of 16 straight Premier League victories.
He added: "I think we have to believe. I always maintain that, no matter who you play, you have to believe you can win. We believe we can. In saying that, it's going to be incredibly difficult.
"I think we need a mixture of things - we need our players to perform at an extremely high level and we're going to need to be defensively very good with the attacking players they have.
"Probably more importantly, we need a bit of luck, which has deserted us I think in the last few games.
"I think City are on their way to being a great team. You can only truly say that when they win something.
"But the style of football they have, the players they have, the way they're coached… It's a really good mix for them.
"They're playing with extreme confidence at the moment and full credit to them. It's been very impressive."
