CHERRIES are sweating on the fitness of defensive duo Simon Francis and Adam Smith.

The pair were both casualties of Saturday’s 2-1 win over West Brom at Vitality Stadium.

Skipper Francis succumbed to a hamstring injury after just 17 minutes and was replaced by Charlie Daniels.

And Smith, who had replaced Daniels at left-back, took a heavy blow to the knee in the second half and made way for Lys Mousset after 57 minutes.

Both players headed to Dubai for Cherries’ warm-weather training camp where they will be assessed by club medical staff.

Asked by the Daily Echo whether he could put a time frame on either player returning to fitness, boss Howe replied: “It is difficult to say at this stage.

“They will both come with us and receive treatment.

“Adam’s looks like a medial ligament problem.

“He took a nasty whack in a tackle and couldn’t recover from it. We hope it is nothing serious.

“It is a similar situation with Simon. His is a hamstring problem, a slight strain. Hopefully, his is nothing serious either.”

Smith and West Brom’s Jake Livermore were booked following a robust challenge between the pair in the first half, which sparked a flare up among players from both camps.

“I thought it was two players going very committed together,” said Howe.

“It was strange it was a foul one way (against Smith) and not the other. It was just a 50-50 call and they both went in very committed.”