ENGLAND under-21 boss Aidy Boothroyd heralded Cherries star Lewis Cook as a “serial winner” and backed him to relaunch a pursuit on the senior squad.

Cook is set to miss this summer’s European Under-21 Championship due to the anterior cruciate ligament knee injury he suffered in December.

The setback came just weeks after the talented midfielder had captained Boothroyd’s side to victory in friendlies against Denmark and Italy.

The Young Lions on Tuesday face Germany at Vitality Stadium (7.45pm) as they step up preparations for the tournament in June.

Former Leeds ace Cook has enjoyed a trophy-laden career in the England youth ranks with success at the 2014 European Under-17 Championship, 2017 Under-20 World Cup and 2018 Toulon Tournament, captaining his country in the latter two.

Discussing Cook’s national success story, Boothroyd told the Daily Echo: “The experience of tournaments is really important. He is a serial winner.

“Every time I walk around St George’s Park I see pictures of him holding up trophies.

“He has done it at under-17 level, at World Cup level with the under-20s and he did it in Toulon with us last year.

“He has a great pedigree in terms of tournament football and, hopefully, that will sustain him and push him on to the senior team at some point.”

Cook has been capped by England at every age group from under-16 through to the senior team, with his debut for Gareth Southgate’s side coming last year against Italy.

He was also on a five-man standby list for the Three Lions World Cup squad last summer.

Asked about the impact of Cook’s injury on his squad, Boothroyd said: “He is our quarterback. He is not only a fantastic footballer but a really good person and we look for that.

“He was one of our leaders and it is just unfortunate, part and parcel of football, but he will get back and be stronger for it having had the time out and be ready for the next challenge.

“We look from afar and Bournemouth is a great vehicle for him and vice-versa. They are a team we always want to do well because of the amount of English players they have in their team.

“We are disappointed for him but he will be back.”

Cook has racked up 48 Premier League appearances since joining Cherries in 2016.

Assessing the 22-year-old’s development in club football, Boothroyd said: “The fact he gets in a top 10 Premier League club is a credit to him. I know the manager has to pick him and credit to him for doing that but he has something different.

“When I look at Bournemouth’s squad and where they are at, he offers something a little bit different. There is good variation there for him but we just hope he gets himself back as quick as possible playing for Bournemouth again.”