EDDIE Howe insists Simon Francis has the mentality to “achieve everything that he wants to” as he continues to battle back from a long-term knee injury.

The Cherries club captain has not played in almost seven months since being stretchered off during the 5-0 defeat to Tottenham at Wembley on Boxing Day.

Scans revealed that Francis had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, but after surgery he is now well into his rehab.

The full-back stepped up his training again last week as part of the squad in their pre-season training camp in La Manga and Barcelona.

The 34-year-old joined Cherries from Charlton, initially on loan, in November 2011 before making his deal permanent for just £25,000 a few months later.

He is now heading into the final year of his contract at Vitality Stadium.

But Howe says that despite Francis moving towards the twilight of his career, he has no doubt the defender will make a full recovery.

The Cherries boss told the Daily Echo: “I back him to do that of course.

“Part of Simon’s biggest qualities have always been his athleticism and his physicality. It’s certainly something that he’s going to have to work hard to recover and to get back.

“Football does get harder every season as you get older.

“But I think he’s got the mentality, the drive to achieve everything that he wants to achieve from this point.”

Francis was not the first Cherries player to suffer a serious knee injury last season.

Lewis Cook, 12 years Francis’s junior, was already in the treatment room after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in early December.

And Howe is keen to remain patient on both players, with neither involved during the friendlies against AFC Wimbledon or Girona in Spain. The pair are also expected to sit out the series of upcoming pre-season matches in the coming weeks.

Howe said: “Lewis has been back (training) on the grass and Simon Francis is the same. But I would be very cautious.

“It’s very early days for them both.”

He added: “I don’t think there is a good time to get one (an injury) to be honest.

“Whether you’re an experienced player or whether you’re young, you’re going through the same emotions, that feeling that you’re not able to do what you want to do can be difficult to deal with.

“Simon you’d like to think would be mature enough, experienced enough just to handle himself and handle those emotions.

“But he’s going to still need our support all the way through and he is very, very pleased with how his rehab is going and how his knee feels.

“It’s certainly good signs for him.”