Will International Duty Help or Hurt AFCB In Their Busy Pre Christmas Schedule?

Injuries will always be frequent at AFC Bournemouth due to the nature of football that they play under Marco Rose, similar to how life was under Andoni Iraola.

However, there is two key differences as to why the high intensity football was more sustainable over the course of a season. Firstly, less games domestically and no European games, but also, nowhere near as many members of the first team squad were playing Internationally.

This would mean that the international breaks under Andoni Iraola could be used for rest, recovery and a chance for the group to really get together whilst other competing clubs would see most of their squad go all across the world.

With the likes of Rayan jetting off the South America, Tyler Adams heading all across North America in the CONCACAF Nations League, and other players competing in Europe, not many members of the squad are going to be able to rest.

Seeing players getting either called up for the first time like James Hill and Junior Kroupi were, or re-called like Antonio Silva, it excellent to see. However, with both Hill and Silva, they would have been able to use all of the recent international breaks as a chance to have time off, but now they will be playing for top teams in the Nations League.

One thing that Marco Rose seems to be learning and adapting to more and more as he gains more managerial experience in the Premier League, is how important utilising the squad is. Do not be surprised if the likes of Bafode Diakite, Veljko Milosavljevic and Juanlu Sanchez (injury dependant), are used more in the lead up to Christmas to balance minutes out and prevent injuries.

It will always be a worry when you have injury prone players that have never played in Europe before that also go away with their respective countries. One player that falls under this category is Ben Gannon-Doak, who for a young winger, has struggled with a lot of injuries in his career so far.

Even though Cherries right hand side is filled with quality and different qualities with Rayan and Doak, both of them will need to be managed well by Marco Rose after the break.

On a more positive note, going away with your country allows players who are in fine form to continue that. Antonio Silva will be feeling full of confidence after the last month that he has had, and will be keen to keep up this form up for Portugal.