BOSS Eddie Howe insisted Cherries still needed to tread carefully with Callum Wilson – but said the striker’s World Cup dream was very much “in his hands”.

Wilson plundered a comeback hat-trick against Huddersfield in only his second Premier League start since recovering from a serious injury.

He spent almost nine months on the sidelines after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee – having sustained the same injury to his right knee in September 2015.

Wilson hit 23 goals in his first season as Cherries clinched promotion and had bagged five in seven games in his maiden campaign in the top flight before he was struck down for the first time.

His exploits earned him an England under-21 cap, with Wilson replacing Harry Kane during a 3-2 defeat by France in November 2014 – in a team managed by Gareth Southgate.

And while Wilson’s eye-catching return has prompted talk of the 25-year-old forcing his way into Southgate’s plans for Russia 2018, Howe was keen to add a note of caution.

Howe said: “Callum would want me to champion his cause, of course, but I am just happy for him that he is looking so good and scoring goals in our team.

“That’s what happens at this level – you have a game where you do well and, suddenly, you are talked about with England.

“I would love all my players who represent their countries to go to the World Cup. If Callum carries on the type of form he showed against Huddersfield and Newcastle then it is in his hands.

“But it is not the end of the road for Callum and, in my opinion, he still has a path to go down to get back to his best.

“It is the same with any player who suffers a long-term injury but certainly the signs are good that Callum is going to get there.”

Howe, who signed Wilson for a bargain £2million from Coventry, added: “It is a challenge for any player recovering from that type of injury.

“Cruciates were ones which retired you back in the day but, with modern science and rehab techniques, they are not so serious now.

“The big thing with Callum this time was how good he looked when we saw him train. There was no limp, he ran really smoothly and his pace was there.

“For Callum, that is everything. He has always lived off playing off the last shoulder and getting in behind and you could see that threat was there.”

Wilson’s haul against the Terriers saw him become the first Englishman this season to score a hat-trick in the Premier League and the 54th to net two or more trebles since the competition started in 1992.

“I know he was very much on England’s radar before he got injured the first time and rightly so,” added Howe. “His form in the Championship and at the start of the Premier League had been so strong.

“He will be champing at the bit because he is that kind of guy. He wants more, he wants to achieve and he is not here to make up the numbers.

“He has always had that mind set and, if he does well for us, I think everything else will take care of itself.”