Tyler Adams remains out for Bournemouth, with the U.S. men’s national team midfielder rapidly running out of time to play a further part in this Premier League campaign.
At a pre-game press conference, Cherries manager Andoni Iraola ruled Adams out for Saturday’s clash with Arsenal.
Adams will have missed seven straight games with back spasms that first bubbled up in early April. The new injury has derailed a promising return from a hamstring issue that effectively cost Adams most of 2023.
After Adams’ second game out, a 2-1 loss to Luton Town, Iraola had expressed some hopes that the back issue would be resolved quickly. More recently, the Bournemouth boss referred to the issue as “not a bad injury” before adding that “we have to be careful with these decisions,” indicating that Adams may not return until he’s completely healed.
The problem? There’s not much time left for that to happen. With the New York native ruled out of the Arsenal clash, there are just two games remaining this season in which he could return. Bournemouth’s final two fixtures are May 11’s home match against Brentford, and a season-ending trip to face Chelsea on May 19.
The Cherries sit 10th in the table, and have little left to play for this season. The club has been safe from relegation worries for some time, and has only the faintest mathematical chance of claiming a Europa Conference League playoff round berth (essentially needing to win three straight while getting significant help from elsewhere in the league).
However, Adams’ performances in his brief spell back on the pitch will likely make Bournemouth fans wonder where the club would be had he been healthy all season. The USMNT No. 6 was at his best in a 2-1 win over Everton in March, shortly after scoring a spectacular long-range goal against Mexico on international duty.
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