AFC Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has admitted that the injured Alex Scott is a big loss to his Cherries squad, after the midfielder underwent knee surgery during the week.
Iraola confirmed that Scott will be out for over six weeks as a result of the meniscus tear sustained in training, as well as revealing the club decided the youngster would undergo surgery due to the chance of solving the issue for good.
The Cherries manager couldn’t hide his disappointment at losing Scott in his pre match press conference ahead of the Aston Villa game on Saturday, he said: “It’s bad news for us because he gives us quality on the ball.
“The rest of the team feel so safe when he is in possession, he has been playing as a number eight recently and he has improved so much defensively, so he is a big loss.”
As the Cherries lose one man to injury in the centre of the park, another returns in the form of Tyler Adams who was an unused substitution last weekend against Arsenal, and Iraola is confident the American is ready to contribute.
He said: “This is probably the best moment for Tyler to start getting some minutes, he is feeling well, feeling confident in training and I now see him playing very freely.
“Obviously he cannot play 90 minutes straight away after a lot of time out, but we will judge his playing time based on how he feels and recovers.”
With only two players currently out with injury, Luis Sinisterra joining Scott in the treatment room with a slight knock, Iraola is happy that his players must fight for a spot in the starting XI.
He said:” I think it is good that we have this competition, with all these different options, it is difficult for me but good for our team.”
Iraola also has a decision to make in terms of who takes penalties for the Cherries, after Justin Kluivert converted his spot kick against Arsenal last weekend, becoming the first Bournemouth player to score from 12 yards since Dominic Solanke’s departure in the summer.
He said: “It looks like Justin (on penalty duty), but I don’t know whether he will be on the pitch next time we get one , so it’s not about just having one taker but having three or four.”