EDDIE Howe is sweating on the fitness of loan star Jack Wilshere.

The England international was forced off in Monday night's 2-0 home loss to Manchester City that extended Cherries' winless streak in 2017.

Wilshere was replaced by Benik Afobe in first-half stoppage time after experiencing discomfort in his ankle.

Cherries skipper Simon Francis, an injury doubt before the clash at Vitality Stadium, had earlier been substituted due to a hamstring problem.

On Wilshere, Howe said: "He is just feeling his ankle. I don't think there is any major injury there. It wasn't one moment in the game, he just felt he couldn't move as freely as he wanted to.

"He had a pain in his ankle so we took him off and we will have to assess how bad that is."

Asked about the extent of Francis's injury, Howe said: "I don't know, we will wait and see. He is feeling his hamstring again.

"He went to make a pass and felt a similar pain to how he felt the first time."

Howe added: "Losing the two players was the key moment in the game for us – our captain and a player of Jack's quality.

"As well as the loss of the players, that hampers what you can do in the remainder of the game in terms of the tactical changes you can make. That was a shame from our perspective.

"Any injuries we get to established first-team players are always going to be difficult to take but it is what it is and we have to manage it."

Cherries have won only one of their last nine league games - a run which began with a 3-1 home defeat to Saints on December 18.

That success was a 3-0 win at Swansea on December 28.

Since then, Howe's men have only picked up two points out of a possible 18 and crashed out of the FA Cup to third tier Millwall at the third round stage.

Cherries' next game is at West Brom on February 25.