SIMON Francis described as “so unfortunate” the injury turmoil suffered by Junior Stanislas – having first witnessed the playmaker’s quality almost 11 years ago.

Francis was in the same team as a youthful Stanislas when the latter was sent out on loan to Southend by boyhood club West Ham in 2008.

The winger scored twice on his professional debut for the Shrimpers in a 3-1 FA Cup second round victory over Luton.

Defender Francis played the entirety of that contest at Roots Hall and has now worked with the former Burnley ace for more than five years at Cherries.

Stanislas is set to be out for another two months having recently undergone a minor knee operation.

He has not featured for Cherries since April, having sustained a hamstring problem after 23 minutes against Fulham at Vitality Stadium.

Club captain Francis told the Daily Echo: “I feel so sorry for Junior because having known him since he’s been here, I knew him at a previous club I was at at Southend, I know him really well. He’s a good friend of mine.

“There’s no real reason you can ever put on someone like his injuries. He lives his life very professionally, he’s just had too many injuries that he wouldn’t have liked to have had.

“That’s so unfortunate for him. He’s had a couple of setbacks, he’s had his operation now and he’ll be out for two months.

“But speaking to him, it’s the most positive he’s been. He thinks he’ll come back a lot stronger this time and this will be the final one, hopefully.”

Stanislas has played 114 times for the Dorset club since reuniting with manager Eddie Howe, who also worked with him at Burnley.

Howe last month described as “pivotal to how we play” the Kidbrooke-born star.

Asked about Stanislas’s quality, Francis added: “His delivery and his ability on the ball is as good as I’ve played with for a right-footer.

“He can play along anywhere in midfield, he can play in behind the striker and I think he possesses all the talent to be a top player for Bournemouth.

“It’s just the consistency of keeping him fit and getting him on the pitch. I’d love to see him play 30-40 games in a season. I know he’d want nothing more than that.

“Let’s wait until he gets back fit and hopefully he’ll be firing again.”

The skipper, who himself last month returned from a serious knee injury, stressed Stanislas’s team-mates would be with him every step of the way.

“We’re with everyone every single day, we’re in the trenches, we’re a team, we have to fight for each other and when someone gets injured you have to be there for them,” he said.

“The lads did that with me when I was injured and that’s why we’re such a tight-knit unit. Very good team spirit.

“We’re almost like a little family because when people have their down days and setbacks, there’s always going to be lads around to make you feel better.”