HARRY Arter is determined to ensure his Euro 2016 anguish will not be in vain after reporting back for pre-season with a clean bill of health.

The Cherries midfielder admits he is still smarting from missing his opportunity with Republic of Ireland having suffered a calf strain.

Arter's setback came on the back of a injury-plagued first season in the Premier League in which the former Woking man was restricted to just 21 league appearances.

But as frustrating as the 26-year-old found kicking his heels while his international colleagues shone in France, he reckons the recuperation time will stand him in good stead.

Arter, currently in Chicago for Cherries' pre-season training camp, told the Daily Echo: "Luckily, the injury I suffered with Ireland was not a bad one in the sense of ruling me out for pre-season.

"It wrecked my chances of going to the Euros which was horrible at the time but I have a Premier League season to focus on. When we started running and team training, I felt great.

"I have been working really hard over the summer to stay on top of everything physically, not just the injury. One thing I learned from missing our last pre-season was how much it can affect you with the small niggles you can pick up throughout the campaign.

"Hopefully, with the pre-season the gaffer puts in place, I can stay injury free. It was a horrible season but I believe everything happens for a reason and I hope missing the Euros can at least have some sort of benefit.

"I don't think anyone can take too many positives from missing out on one of the biggest tournaments in the world but it is important for me to realise that going there and pushing myself might have set me back in the long-term.

"I would have been playing catch-up like I did all through last season. How it panned out might not have filled me with too much happiness but getting a full pre-season will hopefully keep me fit to make the best of any opportunities for club and country."

And Arter revealed he had been under strict instruction not to overdo things in his bid to hit the ground running in pre-season.

"That was one thing the manager made clear," he added. "As much as I wanted to come back as fit as I could, I still had make sure I rested for a good period of time to make sure everything was right.

"There were times where I had to completely shut down and focus on strength training rather than pure running. The older you get, the more you realise how the boring exercises that you can sometimes neglect are so important.

"They play a massive part in your fitness and I have a really good base to hit pre-season with. As it stands, I am in really good shape and ready for the sessions the manager has planned."