SKIPPER Simon Francis revealed he and fellow knee injury-victim Lewis Cook may visit specialist Bill Knowles in the United States for the final stages of their rehab.

Knowles, the director of reconditioning and athletic development at HP Sports, previously worked with Cherries striker Callum Wilson in July 2017 after he suffered the second of his serious knee injuries.

And having both ruptured the anterior cruciate ligaments in their right knees during December, 34-year-old Francis said both he and midfielder Cook could take a similar path to the Cherries frontman.

The club captain, who has been part of Cherries’ 12-day Spanish training camp, told the Daily Echo: “I think there is a chance that Lewis and I will go to Philadelphia to see Bill Knowles. He is a very highly-respected knee specialist in terms of returning to train.

“He is almost the last port of call you see before you are ready to go and play games and join in fully with the team on a regular basis.

“Callum went over there, as well as Tyrone (Mings) and they spoke very highly of him. If there’s the chance for us to go out there, which I think there is, then I think we would be stupid to turn it down.

“We want to explore all the options we can and make sure we are in the best possible shape to come back.”