EDDIE Howe believes the introduction of a mid-season break in the Premier League could ensure players remain at their best – and admits Cherries would have been aided by an interval last season.

After years of discussions, the 2019-20 Premier League campaign will be the first to include a planned break for clubs.

Each team will receive a weekend without a game in February, with one round of matches split across two weekends.

Cherries’ trip to Sheffield United will take place on either the weekend of Saturday, February 8, or Saturday, February 15.

A decision on which weekend it will be is due be announced in December by the Premier League when the televised games for February are selected.

Last season, Howe’s squad was stretched to the limit for some time due to a series of injuries throughout the winter months.

And the Cherries boss admitted he would have been grateful for the opportunity to get players back to full fitness.

Asked for his thoughts on the introduction of the mid-season break, Howe told the Daily Echo: “If we were to go back to January time for us, we would have loved that last season.

“We were really stretched and we had a number of injuries.

“We were asking players to play with injuries and the number of games we had around the Christmas period sort of broke us – we sort of tipped over the edge injury-wise from that moment and we were never able to fully recover.

“If I put myself back in that position and you were to say there was a couple of weeks to rest and to recharge players, I would have been delighted.”

The Premier League break is scheduled several weeks later than those implemented across Europe’s top leagues.

Germany’s Bundesliga sees every club given three weekends without matches following the round of fixtures prior to Christmas.

Spain’s La Liga and France’s Ligue 1 implement a break with one weekend of no matches for all teams over the festive period while Italy’s Serie A typically implements the same approach in January.

Despite the difference in timing, Howe backed the move to implement a pause from matches in England’s top flight.

“I think there have been a lot of studies done that show in England you do pick up more injuries because of the fact there is no winter break – I think it has been well-proven,” said Howe. “Hopefully it makes a difference.

“Most supporters would say, unless you are challenging for the league, you want the best players playing most weeks.

“You want the best players and the best product for everyone to watch and, hopefully, that will help us.”

Asked if the break would be a considerable factor in his plans during the season, Howe said: “I don’t know if you have to factor it in too much but it is certainly something when you have tired bodies after Christmas with the amount of games.

“I think people underestimate what that does to the body and to the mind.

“A chance for everyone just to refresh will mean you get a better product when we come back.”