Justin Kluivert will be given every chance to prove his fitness ahead of Bournemouth’s Premier League clash with Fulham on Monday.
Kluivert has enjoyed the best goalscoring campaign of his career this season, notching up 12 goals and six assists in the league for Andoni Iraola’s side.
But the Dutchman’s absence has been sorely missed in the last two games as the Cherries’ winless run in the league stretched to six games.
Bournemouth face a huge home clash with Fulham on Monday as they look to revitalise their hopes of qualifying for Europe.
And Iraola is hopeful that the extra days off will allow Kluivert and two other key attackers to prove their fitness and be selected for the fixture.
‘We still have three days until Monday night, so we will try with Justin [Kluivert], Marcus Tavernier and Luis Sinisterra,’ the Spaniard said in Friday’s press conference.
‘From the three of them, Sinisterra is the one with less of a chance but we will try. That’s our situation right now.
Pressed as to how likely it was that any of the three could feature, Iraola responded: ‘I cannot tell you right now.’
There was bad news on the injury front for Bournemouth, though, with Iraola confirming that midfielder Ryan Christie would miss the rest of the season having undergone surgery.
‘Ryan Christie is out for the season. He has needed surgery and he has been pushing through pain all season, but now is the moment where his body tells him ‘no, it’s enough, you can’t keep playing’,’ he said.
‘Our aim is to have him ready to start pre-season.’
Monday’s opponent’s Fulham are just three points off the top seven after their superb upset win against Liverpool last weekend.
And Iraola was therefore under no illusions as to the task awaiting his side as they look to get back to winning ways in front of their home fans.
‘We are three points behind them. They are a team who we have been fighting against more or less since the two seasons that I have been here,’ he said.
‘I think we just finished above them last season. They are in a good spot after beating Liverpool and I hope that now we can play well, because I feel like we need it.
‘I think that they have a very nice squad, they don’t have a star or a best player but I like a lot of the players and they perform consistently very well.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.