CHERRIES boss Eddie Howe says Josh McQuoid is facing an “important stage” of his career following the end of his loan spell with Coventry City.

McQuoid made 19 league and cup appearances for the Sky Blues before being forced to cut short his stay at the Ricoh Arena due to an Achilles injury.

He netted three times in League One and twice in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, with all five goals coming during a nine-match spell between mid-August and early October.

McQuoid, who started 16 of his 19 games, linked up with Cherries team-mates Ryan Allsop and Mohamed Coulibaly whose loans were part of the deal which saw Callum Wilson move in the opposite direction.

He last featured during a 1-1 draw with Fleetwood on December 20 and his loan officially expired following Coventry’s trip to Gillingham on Saturday, with Allsop’s agreement also having ended at the same time.

Cherries boss Howe told the Daily Echo: “Josh injured his Achilles and wasn’t going to feature before his loan ended so returned here to have treatment.

"We will wait and see what happens when he is fit. It is an important stage of Josh’s career. He is contracted to us until the summer so these are big moments for him.

"If he is not going to feature with us then we would look to get him some loan time so he can keep moving his career forward.”

Discussing McQuoid’s loan at Coventry, Howe added: “He had a good start and scored a number of goals early in his loan spell. For whatever reason, he found it more difficult towards the tail-end of it.

“Knowing Josh as I do, he will be champing at the bit to continue his career and make sure he plays and, at this stage, that is what he needs.”

McQuoid, capped five times by Northern Ireland, was restricted to just one appearance for Cherries last season, having scored three goals and played 39 times in their League One promotion campaign.