Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola hopes Lewis Cook can return against Tottenham on Thursday evening. Cook missed Saturday’s 4-2 win at Wolves due to a muscle strain having started in all 12 of the Cherries’ previous league games this season and Iraola does not want to rush the former Leeds midfielder back.
Iraola told a press conference: “He is going to train (on Wednesday) and we will see and ask him if he is going to play. We will ask him.”
Antoine Semenyo returns to contention after a one-game ban, but Luis Sinisterra, Julian Araujo (both thigh) and Alex Scott (knee) remain unavailable. Bournemouth responded to recent back-to-back defeats with victory at Wolves and sit 13th in the table, nine points clear of the relegation zone.
They have beaten both Arsenal and Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium this season, but Iraola is a big admirer of Tottenham – they took six points off the Cherries last season – and expecting another big challenge.
“Their stats are amazing and they are top scorers in the competition,” the Spaniard said. “They have so many threats, especially offensively and they are really good in their position. It’s going to be very difficult.
“The past season we played very well. Even playing well, they beat us 3-1 (at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December), but I think we played well. These games you have to be very good and better than them in the boxes because they are high quality. They are a very good team that I enjoy watching.”
Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke is poised to make his first return to the Vitality Stadium since his summer move to the Londoners, for a fee which could rise to £65million.
Solanke, who spent five-and-a-half seasons at Bournemouth, has scored six goals for Tottenham in all competitions this season but faces a fitness race to be in contention for Spurs. Iraola added: “I prefer that he doesn’t play against us. But we have prepared the game thinking that he will play.
“He’s very important for them. He is giving them a lot in and out of possession. We know him well, but he also knows everything we do.”
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