Cook is still managing to play through the pain

Not many players would be happy to keep on playing knowing that they have a broken nose. Still it does not seem to matter to Steve Cook. The physical nature of the Championship is very apparent and while I hope AFCB don't become a big side that use muscle as much as footballing ability, this league demands that your are made of stern stuff.

Cook does not want to relinquish his place in the team and is
prepared to go through the pain barrier if a ball hits him on the nose.

It seems to be the thing that players try and play through the pain when they can. While a mask may offer some protection I am not sure how confident or comfortable players can possibly feel with such devices fitted for 90 minutes of a game. With Elliott Ward still recovering from his leg injury, AFCB are a little bit short in the centre back position and Steve Cook must know that he is doing Eddie Howe a big favour by carrying on playing games when he really needs an operation.

So far it has not hindered Steve Cook too much and I guess the nose is not such a bad place to have an injury for a footballer. It is possible that we won't see Steve going up for quite so many corners though. I have not worked out yet what Eddie Howe's favourite centre back pairing is this season, but Steve Cook has done more than enough to merit his continued selection.

I expect Cook and Elphick to be tested far more against Blackburn than they were against Blackpool. Blackpool have been in meltdown for a while but Blackburn don't go many games without winning. If Cook can put in another courageous performance and he helps the team to get another clean sheet it would be a bigger achievement than the Blackpool win in my eyes. 

Cook is ever present at the back and I hope it stays that way.