'You saw the impact' - Gary O’Neil issues injury warning to Bournemouth ace ahead of Brighton and Leicester

The Cherries came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1 on Saturday to move out of the bottom three. Bournemouth then follow their meeting with Brighton with a trip to fellow strugglers Leicester at the weekend.

Marcus Tavernier came off the bench to score against Fulham, but O’Neill sounded a note of caution over the 24-year-old’s fitness.

“We need to be realistic with where he is at the moment, but you saw the impact that he can have,” he said.

“It’s important that we try and keep him fit, we work with him and we keep improving him.

“We’ll try and make sure this time that now he’s back, he’ll stay back, because last time we had him back for one sub appearance, he started the next game and then we lost him.”

Brighton head into the midweek fixtures sixth in the Premier League table and O’Neil knows they will prove tough opposition.

“We’re in a decent spot and the lads are enjoying it, but there’s a big test coming in just over 24 hours,” he said on the club website.

“Brighton are a fantastic team, so it’s a real test, especially with the quick turnaround.

“There’s not too much time, only a day really, to prep the lads for what is a complicated task against what is a very good side.”

The win against Fulham came two weeks after a memorable victory over Liverpool and lifted Bournemouth a point clear of the drop zone.

“The belief was shown from 30 minutes onwards in the Fulham game – that belief has always been there,” O’Neil said.

“Of course some positive results and the lads being rewarded for some of their good work have helped.

“We’re now looking forward to two more very big games this week.”