We’re facing greatest challenge, says Howe

EDDIE HOWE admitted that Bournemouth face their ‘biggest challenge’ since they were promoted to the Premier League in 2015 as his injuryravaged side look to arrest a slump that sees them sliding towards the relegation zone.

Liverpool were comfortable 3-0 winners at the Vitality Stadium and the defeat means that Bournemouth have now lost five straight league games for the first time since 2013 —when they were in League One.

They are just one point clear of the relegation zone but more concerning for Howe is their growing injury list.

The Bournemouth boss had to cope with a number of absentees even before Nathan Ake and Callum Wilson both went off against Liverpool after suffering apparent hamstring injuries.

‘We’re conceding too many goals, we’re not scoring enough goals,’ Howe said. ‘I don’t want to make the excuse of injuries being behind everything but you just look at the number we have, with the quality of players we’re missing, I’m not sure there are many Premier League teams that could cope with that.

‘The trouble is, it’s difficult for me to give good news and say we’re going to get a load back in a couple of days because I’m not sure that’s going to happen.

‘But we have to find a way, it’s probably the biggest challenge we’ve ever faced since we came into the Premier League. And that’s saying something after what we had thrown at us in our first season. But this is going to be the biggest challenge.’

With Charlie Daniels, Adam Smith and Steve Cook already out, Howe is now without arguably his first-choice back four. The injury to Wilson, meanwhile, robs him of their most potent goalscorer. Joshua King is also sidelined, while Junior Stanislas and Andrew Surman are training again after long-term setbacks.

‘You don’t win matches and get points in the Premier League without good players and we have such a long injury list it’s obviously a huge concern for the future for us because we have games coming up thick and fast and we can’t let this run continue. So we need to go away and assess what we have.

Cook requires surgery on a broken wrist and his centreback partner Ake could be out for a while, too. Howe said yesterday’s game turned on his injury which he fears is ‘quite serious’. On Wilson, he added: ‘I’m not 100 per cent sure what Callum’s problem was,’ added Howe.