CHERRIES could face former teammate Sam Surridge when they travel to Stoke City on Tuesday but stand-in skipper Lloyd Kelly says it will be “strictly business.”

The 23-year-old defender returned to Ashton Gate and went toe-to-toe with a number of his former teammates and friends during the 2-0 win over Bristol City on Saturday, and could be set to go up against another this week.

Academy product Surridge departed Vitality Stadium for a hefty fee during the summer transfer window following head coach Scott Parker’s arrival.

He made an immediate impact with a debut winner from the bench at Reading and has registered four goals in fifteen competitive appearances – albeit three of those in August and two in the EFL Cup.

Surridge has been used as a substitute in the last four, with Stoke currently sitting fifth in the table, seven points behind Cherries, following a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United at the weekend.

But Kelly isn’t worried about coming up against the former teammate, insisting: “To be honest, it’s just another game.

“No matter who I play against if I know them or not, obviously today (Saturday, at Bristol City) I know a few of the boys who are still here and to be honest after the game you can talk, you can laugh and joke and that but when the game is going on it’s strictly business.

“After the game against Stoke if he plays or not we will have a chat and things like that but before that we just have a game and we know what we have to do, it will be pure focus.”