MANAGER Eddie Howe revealed a big concern was the mental wellbeing of his players amid English football’s COVID-19 shutdown.

Cherries have been without a game since March 7, with the Premier League and EFL suspending all fixtures until at least April 30.

Future plans for the top flight could be decided when league chiefs meet via video conference on Friday.

But having not seen his players in more than two weeks, the Cherries boss has been regularly checking in on their welfare while the campaign remains in limbo.

He told the Daily Echo: “Daily, I am thinking of the players, the staff and making sure everyone connected with the club - the supporters as well – stay as well as they possibly can.

“It’s been very, very different. Usually you have a big control over players’ training, general health, even their food – getting two meals a day with us.

“Suddenly you lose all of that contact with them. It’s more the mental wellbeing at the moment, that’s probably my biggest concern.

“The guys with families will probably have their days filled up, like mine are being, with their children - having people around the house and not feeling isolated.

“But it’s the single guys, maybe the people that don’t have a wife or a girlfriend and definitely don’t have kids. They are the ones I am most worried about at this present time.

“I have tried to keep in contact with the players as best I can, without ringing up with nothing to say.”

Cherries’ most recent top-flight test came in a 2-1 defeat at Liverpool. They were sent home from training a day before their scheduled game against Crystal Palace on March 14.

Asked how much he was missing the game, the boss replied: “I miss it like you wouldn’t believe. Football is very much my life in terms of my work and my passion – the thing I enjoy the most in my life, apart from family, is football.

“It’s probably the first time that I have been away from the game. I know you have summer breaks but that feels different to this, this is mid-season.

“I’m missing the players, missing the staff and the challenges that football brings.”

Cherries earlier this month confirmed Artur Boruc and four other first-team members of staff were self-isolating as a precaution, having displayed symptoms consistent with COVID-19.

And Howe was happy to announce they had returned to full health.

“They are all fine and fully recovered,” he added.

“I know Artur wasn’t feeling very well. From the players’ side I think he was the worst affected but I think he’s fine and recovered. The other guys likewise.

“Health always takes priority. The priority was that all those people got back to full health.”