Gary O’Neil has confirmed that Ilya Zabarnyi could make his debut in tomorrow’s game against Fulham.
The £20 million centre back signed for Bournemouth on deadline day in January and is still yet to make his first appearance for the Cherries, with his last senior game coming on November 30th.
O’Neil said: “He’s had a long spell without playing competitive football. Then there’s the adaption to the Premier League so there’s a lot to consider with Ilya”
The Cherries boss also confirmed that Marcus Tavernier is fit for the game tomorrow at the Vitality Stadium, as well as Hamed Traore, Jefferson Lerma and David Brooks. Brooks scored a hat-trick for Bournemouth’s development side as they beat Portsmouth 5-2 in the Hampshire Senior Cup during the international break.
When asked if Brooks was ready to start, O’Neil said: “Brooksy can play a decent amount of minutes whether we choose for that to be from the start or from the bench”
“Playing 90 minutes would probably be a push for him at the minute”.
The Cherries go into the game sat in 19th place after a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa two weeks ago, however they find themselves just three points behind 12th placed Crystal Palace.
Fulham will be without Willian and star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic after the pair both received red cards in The White’s FA Cup quarter-final loss to Manchester United.
O’Neil said: “They’re a very strong team. Whether it’s Vinicius that comes in or they decide to use somebody else as the nine they’ll still be a real threat”
“It’ll be a tough test for us definitely they’re a big threat from crosses and from set plays”.