EDDIE Howe says Cherries are “hopeful” the hamstring injuries picked up by in-form duo Joshua King and Junior Stanislas are not long-term.

The boss watched Cherries secure a 2-1 win at West Bromwich Albion this afternoon, despite King pulling out of the starting line-up having felt a twinge in the muscle that resulted in his substitution against Manchester United seven days ago.

And Stanislas, who shone at the Hawthorns, was withdrawn with 20 minutes left having tried to shake off his strain.

Howe said: “Certainly with our current situation, we don’t want any more injuries.

"We lost Joshua in the warm-up which was a huge blow to our team and the way that we play.

“Junior felt a little bit of something in his hamstring so we are hopeful we haven’t picked up two serious injuries.

On King, he added: “He just felt his hamstring. We don’t think it is a pull but he was aware of something that had followed on from last week.

“We had his hamstring checked so we were surprised to hear he had felt something. We are hopeful it is not long-term.”

  • Watch Eddie Howe’s full-post match briefing in the video shot and edited by Sam Sheldon.