EDDIE Howe believes Jack Wilshere has not sustained a major injury after the loan star was forced off in tonight's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City.

England international Wilshere was replaced by Benik Afobe in first-half stoppage time after experiencing discomfort in his ankle.

Cherries skipper Simon Francis, an injury doubt before the clash at Vitality Stadium, had earlier been substituted due to a hamstring problem.

On Wilshere, Howe told the Daily Echo: "He is just feeling his ankle. I don't think there is any major injury there. It wasn't one moment in the game, he just felt he couldn't move as freely as he wanted to.

"He had a pain in his ankle so we took him off and we will have to assess how bad that is."

Asked about the extent of Francis's injury, Howe said: "I don't know, we will wait and see. He is feeling his hamstring again.

"He went to make a pass and felt a similar pain to how he felt the first time."

Howe added: "Losing the two players was the key moment in the game for us – our captain and a player of Jack's quality.

"As well as the loss of the players, that hampers what you can do in the remainder of the game in terms of the tactical changes you can make. That was a shame from our perspective.

"Any injuries we get to established first-team players are always going to be difficult to take but it is what it is and we have to manage it.

Joshua King had a first-half strike ruled out following a pull on John Stones's shirt, which would have levelled the scores at 1-1.

"At the time I did (think it should have been allowed)," said Howe. "But when you review the goal there is a clear pull there so the referee came to the right decision."

The boss continued: "I thought Manchester City were very good – it was a controlled performance from them.

"I thought our lads gave absolutely everything to the game physically and worked incredibly hard.

"I can't ask any more of the players in terms of how they conducted themselves tonight, I just thought they were better than us."