EDDIE Howe believes striker Jermain Defoe’s finely-tuned diet demonstrates his appetite to succeed – even if some nutrition arrives from unexpected sources.

The Cherries boss was speaking after the England international thanked League Two outfit Forest Green Rovers for sending him vegan cheese earlier this month.

Defoe has adopted a primarily plant-based diet in an effort to prolong his career, cutting out meat altogether but still consuming some fish.

Forest Green have a strict vegan policy implemented by chairman Dale Vince, meaning there is no meat, fish, dairy or animal products of any kind on offer.

England international Defoe posted on his official Instagram account: “Thanks to Forest Green for the vegan cheese delivery. It was a nice surprise and I am looking forward to trying it."

Quizzed on the forward’s nutritional regime, Howe told the Daily Echo: “I didn’t know this story about the vegan cheese, it’s an interesting one and I’ll have to sit down and talk with Jermain about that!

“The diet side of the game is massive. For any player it gets more important as you get older, with what you eat, how you live your life and what you do to your body.

“When you are younger, sometimes you can seem bulletproof and seem to get away with some of the choices you make.

“As you get older, I think it follows you even more and Jermain is fully aware of that. At this stage of his career, everything he does will have a consequence.

“He is prepared to pick the right foods for him, even if that means vegan cheese from Forest Green!

“I think it shows how much he wants to win and achieve. You don’t make those sacrifices lightly, you have to think about it and it’s all down to Jermain wanting to be the best he can be.

“That is why he is still playing at this level at the age he is. It’s not by luck. A lot of people his age would have fallen out of the game but he is still playing at the highest level.”

Cherries frontman Defoe is not the only sporting figure to have banished meat from their lifestyle.

Tennis star and 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams has adopted veganism, as has former heavyweight world boxing champion David Haye.

Defoe had been set to travel with Cherries for their training camp in Portugal this week.

He continues to recover from a fractured ankle sustained in the Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat at Chelsea in December.

“He is running on grass and did his first football session on his own with the coaches last week. We are looking forward to seeing him return pretty quickly,” added Howe.

“There is no time frame as yet, we are going to need to see how he reacts to training with the team.”

Cherries’ next fixture is a week on Saturday, when Newcastle United visit Vitality Stadium.