A suprise omission against Charlton Athletic was skipper Tommy Elphick who was forced to sit out as Eddie Howe opted for a tactical switch at the back.
Last seasons Player Of The Season is quoted in the Bournemouth Evening Echo as saying: "It was a massive blow but it was one game of 46. The gaffer felt that I wasn’t quite up to speed and it is probably going to take me a little bit longer to get up to speed, and games like last night help. With the injuries I have had, it might take me a little bit longer to get to my peak and I am fully supportive of that. The main thing was that the team won and nobody was happier than me on Saturday night having seen the team win. Football can tame lions and it can change round very quickly. You are club captain, player of the year and you have it in the back of your mind that you think you are going to start the first game of the season. You have that vision of leading out the lads in a new league, but it wasn’t meant to be. The two lads that played did fantastically well. Cooky has had a really good pre-season and I am fully behind the two. I am champing at the bit and I want to get back in the side as soon as possible. I am only going to do that by showing a good attitude and working hard every day".