Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Anxious wait over fitness of star duo
Cherries boss Eddie Howe is hoping to avoid making another plea to the Football League as he nervously waits to discover the extent of the club's latest numbers crisis.[LNB] The promotion-chasers saw their preparations for the key showdown at rivals Shrewsbury hit when influential pair Jason Pearce and Liam Feeney both sustained training-ground injuries on Friday.[LNB] Both cut frustrated figures as they were forced to watch from the stands as Cherries with just 11 available outfield professionals lost 1-0 in Shropshire.[LNB] Feeney suffered a hamstring problem and Pearce took a heavy knock to his toes although an X-ray showed no broken bones but both travelled in the hope they might recover.[LNB] And Howe, whose injury-ravaged squad was already deprived of no fewer than six crocked stars including long-term victims Shaun Cooper and Mark Molesley, will seek a quick assessment of the key duo.[LNB] Speaking after Terry Dunfield's goal had denied Cherries a deserved positive result at the Prostar Stadium, Howe felt it was too early to give a verdict on the pair.[LNB] He said: We haven't ruled them out yet. We will have to see how they respond to treatment and we will have to see how a couple of the others are, who are very close, and make an assessment then.[LNB] It's an anxious wait but that's how it is.[LNB] Howe revealed that Cherries had approached the league yesterday morning in a bid to bolster their threadbare squad with a loan player, but that the requirement of medical evidence would have taken far too long.[LNB] He said: I don't really see us leaving our captain out for any other reason than him being injured and also our winger who had played in every single game. But that's how it was.[LNB] You get frustrated time and again because it is ridiculous. It was the morning of the game and we did not have time to get doctors reports it was just not feasible, especially when we were away from home as well.[LNB] But we're not going to make excuses for it. It's been there all season so I'm getting used to it now. In some senses, we half thought about not phoning the Football League because we knew what the response would be.[LNB] When asked whether he would seek a relaxation of the club's long-running transfer embargo in the week ahead, Howe added: We will have to see who is fit because we have got a couple close to returning. If they are fit and ready, then we won't be going to the league.[LNB]
