Bad news on Tuesday morning as full extent of Harvey Barnes injury goes public - Official update
Eddie Howe has confirmed that Harvey Barnes suffered a "substantial injury" to his toe during Sunday's 8-0 win at Sheffield United.
It's feared the winger will be missing for "months rather than weeks", with the club now deciding whether or not he'll need surgery.
With left-sided players Joelinton and Joe Willock already injured and likely to be out until after October's international break, it's a real blow to lose Barnes; who has only started twice since completing a £38m move from Leicester over the summer.
Here's what Howe's had to say about the injury blow this morning, telling the local press that it's a "complex issue" that may require surgery:
"It's an injury to his foot, just below the toe, and I think it's quite a substantial injury. We’re fearing it’s months rather than weeks. We've had the scans and now we're waiting now a specialist opinion on what's next and whether there's surgery involved or not.
“He was down after the game because I think he knew it wasn’t your normal injury. If you feel a muscle you tend to think it will be one or two weeks but this was a slightly more complex issue and I think he probably feared the worst because there was nobody around him.
"No doubt he will be very disappointed because he was very keen to show his worth and his value and it was a really good opportunity on Sunday to do so. But whatever the injury is and however long it takes to get back we will support him.
"We know he’s a top-quality player who still has a massive part to play.”
