SHAUN MacDonald is vowing to pull out all the stops in an attempt to win back his place in the Cherries engine room.

MacDonald hit the comeback trail following a two-month injury lay-off when he came off the bench as a late substitute during Saturday’s 2-0 win over Portsmouth.

The 24-year-old, one of Cherries’ leading lights under Eddie Howe, had been sidelined since sustaining ankle ligament damage during the 1-0 victory against Colchester in December.

Midfielder MacDonald, who is again likely to be on the bench when Cherries face Crewe tonight, told the Daily Echo: “I know I wasn’t on for long against Portsmouth but it was great to get a feel of things and be out there with the lads.

“The ankle feels really strong and, hopefully, I can go from strength to strength and slowly work my way back into the team. The lads have been outstanding, not only as individuals but as a team as well. I believe in my ability to eventually get back into the team somewhere down the line.”

  • Cherries are looking to get goalkeeper Benji Buchel some valuable game time by sending him out on loan.

The Liechtenstein international has been restricted to turning out for the development squad since joining Cherries in August.

Cherries assistant boss Jason Tindall told the Daily Echo: “We have been delighted with Benji. He works hard in training every day, he is a really good shot-stopper and a great lad. We have high hopes for him.

“Ideally, with our goalkeeping situation, we would like to get him out on loan to get some games. Wherever he goes, we are totally confident he would perform extremely well and do someone a great turn.”