Lewis Cook and Dango Ouattara were both absent from the Bournemouth squad in their opening league fixture against West Ham United on Saturday.
Manager Andoni Iraola confirmed in a pre-match interview that both the players suffered injuries in the Cherries’ last preseason fixture against French club FC Lorient last weekend. The new boss could potentially be without the pair for an extended period of time.
Explaining the pair’s absence, the Spaniard said: “Against Lorient we had injuries from Dango and Lew [Cook]. That is the reason that we couldn’t put them in today.”
Cook played the majority of the game against Lorient while Ouattara was also brought on in the second-half. No injury updates were provided by the club prior to the manager’s statement before the match on Saturday.
Iraola explained the nature of Ouattara’s injury and also speculated that he could be out for a few weeks. He said: “I think Dango will be out for some weeks, because he had an ankle injury. Right now I think he will be out for some games.
Cook’s injury was said to be a groin issue but the manager confirmed that it is a hip problem. He said: “I think Lew is more day-to-day. Let’s see the evolution. He had some issue in his hips and we’ll see how he evolves.
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“I don’t know if he [Cook] is going to be fit for the next game, but it shouldn’t take as long as Dango’s injury,” the manager added.
Ouattara only joined Bournemouth last season from FC Lorient and went on to make 19 appearances in the league in his debut season. His only goal came in the form of a 95th-minute winner against Tottenham Hotspur in North London.
The forward would have been hoping to hit the ground running this season but will now have to wait to get going as he is set to spend a few weeks on the sidelines.
Lewis Cook has been at Bournemouth for seven years after joining from his boyhood club Leeds United back in 2016. He has played over 100 Premier League games for the Cherries and has been to the Championship and back with the club.
The new manager will be banking on the Englishman’s experience in the midfield for Bournemouth as he looks to convert the club from relegation candidates to a club fighting for a place in the top half of the table on a regular basis.
The Cherries achieved a well-deserved point against the Hammers to kick off their campaign on Saturday. They now face Liverpool next on August 19 in the Premier League.
