Andoni Iraola confirmed that Bournemouth midfielder Hamed Traorè will be out for a long period of time due to malaria. The 23-year-old should have been part of Ivory Coast’s squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations to be played in the country.
Instead, he will now recover at home and undergo further tests and is unlikely to be available to the manager for the foreseeable future. “Right now he’s recovering much better,” Iraola said. “The last few weeks have been a difficult situation for him personally and from a sporting perspective he will be out for some time. We need to make sure he’s okay and recovering properly. He will be out for some time.”
Traorè joined the club in the last transfer window in January, initially on loan from Serie A club Sassuolo with an obligation to make the contract permanent in the summer. He had limited opportunities under both Iraola and former manager Gary O’Neil, making just 10 Premier League appearances in his first 12 months in England.
The coach hinted that he will continue to field a stable squad when his team travel to north London to face Tottenham on Sunday. Bournemouth have picked up six wins in their last seven Premier League games, a run that has lifted them from the relegation places to 12th, outside the top half on goal difference alone.
Lewis Cook could return to the team after missing the Boxing Day home win against Fulham. The 26-year-old suffered an adductor injury in the 3-2 away win at Nottingham Forest a week ago, but the problem did not prove to be serious.
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None of the injured quartet of Lloyd Kelly, Milos Kerkez, Tyler Adams and Ryan Fredericks are ready to return yet, meaning Spurs’ line-up is likely to resemble the one that convincingly beat Marco Silva’s team 3-0.
“We don’t exchange a lot of players at the moment because in the end there are only three or four days between games,” said Iraola. “The only player we might be able to restore is Lewis Cook. The rest aren’t anywhere near the group, so that could be the only change, but it’s not guaranteed. We have to see tomorrow if he can train with us and help us.”
