Bournemouth are set to be without midfielder Alex Scott for more than six weeks after he had surgery on a torn knee cartilage.
The England Under-21 international felt pain in training after starting last weekend’s 2-0 Premier League victory over Arsenaland will begin his absence when the Cherries meet Aston Villa on Saturday.
Manager Andoni Iraola said: “It will definitely be more than six weeks.
“Six weeks was probably if they removed the meniscus. If they repair it, you have to wait more because now he has to have some time without doing anything.
“It will be more (time) – but I don’t know how much.
“It’s always a bad moment when you have something like this but especially after a very good performance from Alex against Arsenal.”
Bournemouth forward Luis Sinisterra, who has a minor issue, will also be unavailable for the tricky trip to Villa Park.
In addition to sitting fourth in the Premier League, Unai Emery’s high-flying hosts top the Champions League table with three wins from three games after defeating Bologna 2-0 on Tuesday.
Iraola feels his team may have to eclipse the impressive performance produced against Arsenal in order to avoid defeat.
“Aston Villa, they are playing very, very, very well,” he said.
“They are having great results, they come on a great run of performances and results. For sure, they are very dangerous.
“We have to be at the same level we were against Arsenal – or better – if we want to take something from the game.”
