Bournemouth host Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has revealed that midfielder Lewis Cook will miss his side’s Premier League clash against Sunderland this weekend, and is expected to be out for “two or three weeks”.

The 29-year-old has been a regular for the Cherries this term, and had started five of the their past six top flight before suffering a late hamstring complaint in the build-up to last Saturday’s fixture against West Ham.

Speaking during a post-match press conference after the final whistle East London, the Iraola explained: "Yesterday he felt something training. Still, we haven't assessed him properly. We haven't done the MRI, but it doesn't look big, but I think there has to be something there. I think it's in the hamstring, and that's the reason he was out today. We will have to wait for the MRI and see if it's something small, but I think there is an injury there."

And now, in his pre-match media duties ahead of Sunderland’s trip to the Vitality Stadium, the Spanish head coach has confirmed Cook’s absence. He said: “For Lewis Cook, we did an MRI after he felt something the day before the last game against West Ham. He has a hamstring injury.

“I think he will be out some weeks. I think he will try but I think it’s going to be difficult that he comes [back] before the international break. Then we are talking about two or three weeks. Probably, he will be out before the break.” Iraola also stated that he has no other new injury concerns to contend with.

For his part, Cook was part of the Bournemouth team that squandered a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light back in November. The midfielder’s afternoon then went from bad to worse when he was shown a red card in the 96th minute for violent conduct.

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What has Regis Le Bris said about Sunderland’s fitness concerns ahead of Bournemouth clash?

In his own pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon, Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris confirmed that he is set to be without a number of first team talents for his side’s clash with Bournemouth this weekend.

He said: "So with Nordi [Mukiele] and Brian [Brobbey], it will be a bit shorter. It will be between two and four weeks, depending on how they respond to the treatments and the rehab. Dennis [Cirkin] and Rei [Reinildo Mandava] are getting better, we miss them but they are getting better. The timeline should be shorter for Dennis, maybe around ten days, but again it will depend on the end of the process.”

Le Bris continued: “It might be a difficult injury for Romaine [Mundle]. He might be out for a few weeks, maybe a month, maybe more. We still have some assessments to make but we'll have a clearer picture soon. It's still early to say if it's exactly the same injury he's had before, but the early indications are it is not positive.

"Jocelin [Ta Bi] might be in the same position as Romaine for a different injury, he might need surgery. It's still a bit early but a few weeks, month... [maybe more]. It was really unlucky because it was a small kick, but really precise on his weakest point.“

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