Eddie Howe may have walked away from the Bournemouth hot seat ten months ago but the former Cherries boss will still have been watching with his head in his hands as Steve Cook limped off halfway through the 1-0 play-off victory over Brentford last night.
Bournemouth’s long-serving skipper managed to soldier on until the interval – he is one-part athlete, two-parts warrior after all – but Cook’s absence for the second leg will be keenly felt by the South Coast club.
“He was playing well to be honest with you and it was a blow to lose Cookie,” manager Jonathan Woodgate told the Daily Echo.
“It’s a knee injury but I don’t know the whole prognosis. He’ll get a scan over the next 48 hours.”
It’s not certain at this stage how long Cook will be out for – but the signs aren’t good.
Taking to Twitter, Cook admitted he was “devastated” to have been denied a chance to drag his teammates over the line in the battle to reach the promised land.
Back to Howe, then.
It seems like only a matter of time before the 43-year-old is finally confirmed as Celtic’s new manager but, before he has even arrived at Parkhead, Howe’s transfer plans may have suffered an ill-timed blow.
In April, The Scottish Sun reported Howe planned to reunite with Cook, one of his most loyal and dependable foot soldiers, north of the border at Parkhead.
If Cook has suffered a long-term injury – having just turned 30 – Howe may have a difficult task trying to convince his Celtic bosses to press ahead with the deal.
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