EDDIE Howe is confident Harry Arter will be fit for the start of the new campaign – but admits he will tread carefully with the midfielder during pre-season.

Arter played through the pain barrier during the final few games of last season having been troubled by a nagging ankle complaint.

A key man as Cherries secured a ninth-place finish in the Premier League, the 27-year-old also had to manage his injury on international duty with the Republic of Ireland.

He was named man of the match in their win over Uruguay in a friendly before playing his part in a 1-1 draw with Austria in a crucial World Cup qualifier earlier this month.

Arter, who is currently in talks regarding a new contract with the club, is due to report back for the start of pre-season training with Cherries at the end of next week.

Howe’s squad will initially be put through their paces at Vitality Stadium before embarking on a 10-day training camp in southern Spain.

Arter will be closely monitored by Cherries’ fitness staff, although his involvement during training and pre-season friendlies is likely to be restricted.

Howe, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Echo, said: “I think Harry is experienced enough to know his own body.

“He declared himself fit for the internationals and did very well in those games so I had no problem with that and we expect him to join in with training.

“We anticipate he will be 100 per cent fit by the time the season starts. We might have to manage him slightly during pre-season but we don’t see any long-term worries with his fitness.”

Howe also expects frontmen Joshua King and Junior Stanislas to play a full part during Cherries’ warm-up campaign ahead of the club’s third season in the Premier League.

Striker King, who plundered 16 goals in the top flight last season, sat out Cherries’ final game at Leicester after turning his ankle in training.

The 25-year-old was forced to withdraw from international duty with Norway and missed matches against Czech Republic and Sweden.

Stanislas, who netted for Cherries in their 1-1 draw at the King Power Stadium, went under the knife to cure a persistent hernia problem just days after the game.

The 27-year-old winger, who endured a stop-start campaign due to injury, was operated on by one of Europe’s leading specialists in Germany.

Howe added: “They will both be fine.

“Josh had an ankle problem which he picked up in training in the week building up to the Leicester game but we anticipate he will be fine to join in with pre-season training.

“The operation Junior had is quite routine these days so we expect him to be fine as well.”

Stanislas enjoyed a fruitful end to the season which saw him start the final six games and score in the last three against Stoke, Burnley and Leicester.