Defoe, Arter join Bournemouth’s growing injury list

London: Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe was left concerned after striker Jermain Defoe and midfielder Harry Arter joined the club’s growing injury list during Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat at Chelsea in the League Cup quarter-finals.

England international Defoe was forced off with an ankle injury following a mistimed tackle from Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu early in the game while Arter was substituted in the second half with a calf problem.

The duo join several players, including Joshua King, Charlie Daniels and Tyrone Mings on the sidelines for Bournemouth and Howe is worried about his depleted squad ahead of a packed festive schedule.

“It looks like he has potentially got some damage to his ankle ligaments,” Howe said after the match. “It was a nasty tackle. He went over on his ankle, he wasn’t right, he had to come off.

“But it meant we lost Jermain and that is going to be a huge blow to us.

“Harry Arter felt his calf and had to come off so we really are stretched. We have a number of players back home who are injured so we hope none of them are too serious.”

Bournemouth are 16th in the Premier League and play four matches in the space of 10 days, starting with Saturday’s trip to leaders Manchester City and ending with a New Year’s Day clash at Brighton.

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte praised his players’ determination after the hard-fought win over Bournemouth.

A much-changed Chelsea side took the early lead through Willian but Bournemouth midfielder Dan Gosling levelled the score at 1-1 in the 90th minute.

The hosts got the winner through an Alvaro Morata goal less than a minute later and Conte was thrilled to see Chelsea progress to the semi-finals, where they will meet London rivals Arsenal.

“The most important thing is we’re in the semi-finals,” Conte said after the match. “To reach the semi-final in one of the two cups in England is great for us, especially with a lot (of squad) rotation.

“I had good responses from my players and I hope to continue in this way. Many players had their chances tonight to play from the start and I think I had good responses.

“It’s also not simple when you concede a goal in the last minute of the game, so to have this type of reaction shows great character, personality and heart.”

Premier League champions Chelsea, who are currently third in the standings, will travel to resurgent Everton on Saturday.