Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has admitted that it will be "very difficult" for Ryan Christie to be involved in Saturday's FA Cup clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Vitality Stadium.
The Cherries are looking forward to competing in the fifth round after getting the better of West Bromwich Albion and Everton in the first two rounds of their FA Cup journey.
Bournemouth are now targeting a place in the quarter-finals, but if they are to reach the last eight then they may have to do it without the services of Christie.
The Scotland international was forced off in the 26th minute of Tuesday's 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.
Iraola provides Christie update
Speaking to the media on Friday, Iraola explained that Christie will struggle to prove his fitness in time for the FA Cup fixture.
"I think it's going to be very difficult for Christie to be available," Iraola told reporters. "He hasn't had an acute injury but it's something that he's dealing with.
"I don't want to rule him out because we still have one day and we will try until the end, but I think it's going to be difficult."
Christie's potential absence will come as a blow to Bournemouth given the fact that he has started 26 of his 28 competitive appearances this season, contributing two goals and three assists.
Iraola reveals fresh Smith setback
The Bournemouth head coach also revealed that experienced full-back Adam Smith has picked up a calf problem in his recovery from an initial hamstring injury.
"I think it's still not clear," Iraola said. "He's having some issues with the calf in his recovery; it was a hamstring injury but now he's having issues in his calf. He's still not training with us, no."
In more positive news, Iraola revealed that defender Julian Araujo has been cleared to return to training following a spell on the sidelines.
However, it seems likely that Saturday's cup clash will come too soon for the Mexico international, who joined Bournemouth from Barcelona last summer. body check tags ::
