AFC Bournemouth
Arnaut Danjuma will again be an absentee at the bet365 Stadium this weekend, despite getting ever closer to a return from the injury the November win over Nottingham Forest.
Jason Tindall gave the latest news on his Dutch winger as well as the rest of the Cherries squad with the team starting 2021 in a televised match at Stoke City on Saturday evening.
The manager used his pre-match press conference at Vitality Stadium to offer information on Danjuma.
"I think this weekend will be too soon for him in that sense that when you've been out for a period of time with a hamstring injury you need that time on the training pitch to be able to make yourself robust, that's to ensure you don't pull up or do any more damage," he said.
"That's where Arnie is at the minute, in that phase of working up and being ready to get out there and push forwards in the team."
With three days between Championship matches against two promotion-pushing clubs, Tindall said, without naming names, that there are one or two other niggles to be looked at before he selects his team on Saturday.
"They've generally all come through from the game okay," he said. "There are a couple of concerns over one or two players that were assessed yesterday and were assessed again this morning.
"We'll look at them again tomorrow before making a decision as to if there okay to be selected for tomorrow night's game."
After losing their third league game of the season in the 2-1 defeat at the Brentford Community Stadium on Wednesday, Tindall is intent on a quick return to winning ways - something that happened after both of his side's two previous league losses this season.
"Whenever you lose a game you want to tackle the next game as quickly as you can and we have that opportunity tomorrow," he said.
"Analysing the Brentford game back again I believe we played well and didn't deserve to lose that game. It was a game that was decided in both boxes, they took their opportunities when they came and we have frustrations in not taking ours.
"It gives us an opportunity to get back to winning ways at Stoke now and, like we have with our previous two setbacks, that's what we're aiming to do now."
