BOSS Eddie Howe fears that Callum Wilson could have sustained a serious knee injury in Cherries’ 2-1 defeat at Stoke.

Five-goal Wilson fell awkwardly following a challenge by Philipp Wollscheid early on and despite attempting to play on, quickly fell to the turf in agony.

The former Coventry man was stretchered off and left the Britannia Stadium in a brace and on crutches.

Cherries have already been hit by long-term knee injuries to Max Gradel and Tyrone Mings this term, both sustained in the draw against Leicester at the end of August.

Howe told the Daily Echo: “It doesn’t look good at this moment in time. He is in a brace and is on crutches. He is in a bit of pain and there is a bit of swelling there.

“We won’t know the extent of it until we get it scanned and properly looked at. It’s worrying for us because it looks like it could be another serious knee injury.

“It was a huge blow for us right at the start of the game.”

Discussing why Wilson had briefly carried on after sustaining the injury, Howe added: “I think Callum felt his knee was okay at that stage.

“You are really in the hands of the player. He wanted to stay on, such is his nature.

“The physios were aware there could be a potential injury and told Callum of their concerns but he felt he was fit enough to carry on.

“Obviously, that wasn’t the case so that was a really key moment in the game.”

Howe admitted he had been left mystified by Cherries’ latest injury setback and said that Wilson’s departure had affected the performance of his team in the first half.

Jonathan Walters put the Potters ahead after the half-hour mark and although Dan Gosling bagged his first league goal for Cherries with 14 minutes left, Mame Diouf’s late header handed Stoke victory.

Howe said: “It’s unbelievable bad luck from our perspective. You wouldn’t wish a serious injury on any footballer and to get three in one team, key players as well, is mystifying.

“The players didn’t react very well to it. We lost our momentum and our flow and were uncharacteristic in and out of possession.

“It didn’t go to plan from that point of view but credit to the players because they came out in the second half and put that right.

“I was really pleased with the second-half performance. I thought we were dominant with the ball. We created a number of chances and at 1-1 you felt there was only one team that was going to win the game.

“For me, we deserved to win. To have lost is hugely disappointing.”