How fit is Josh King?

The demands of the Premier League may be pushing Eddie Howe into playing Josh King more often than really would be wise. In the last week we have seen that Josh has been withdrawn from the Norwegian squad from the international friendlies with Macedonia an Slovakia. He did play against Newcastle Utd, but keeping him playing just might be essential for AFCB.

AFCB need Josh to be 100 per cent fit. 

I don't like to hear it when players say they played even though they were not quite right. We heard it earlier this season with Ryan Fraser and he almost immediately became injured almost immediately in the game against Arsenal. We know that players have to carry knocks some times, but it has already been said that King's original back complaint goes back to last March and it still hasn't really sorted itself out.

King has been the workhorse up front in what he achieved last season and a lot is being asked of him again this time around. While I think he is a natural first pick with his ability to pair with any of the other Bournemouth strikers, it will be a shame if he is not fully fit to play the important games in these next three weeks. At least by missing the international games, King will have had some time to ease his way through the training at Bournemouth and not travel.

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At present it looks like Defoe, Wilson and Mousset are the fully fit strikers at the club, but even if Josh is at 80 per cent then he would still be an asset to the Cherries. That is the worrying thing, as I don't want to see him breakdown completely and be out for a few months. The staff at AFCB are used to knowing how much they can push players though and if King is not right I hope he gets the rest he needs. 

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