Bournemouth have been dealt a devastating injury blow ahead of the new Premier League campaign after striker Eli Junior Kroupi underwent surgery on a fractured fifth metatarsal.
// Related stories
Enjoyed this article?
Get more compelling stories delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe to our newsletter for free!
Subscribe Sekarang →According to reports from Fabrizio Romano, the 20-year-old sustained the severe foot injury during the club's pre-season training camp in Austria earlier this week.
Following immediate medical assessments, the French forward was flown back to the United Kingdom to undergo the necessary operation on Wednesday afternoon.
Newly appointed head coach Marco Rose will now be forced to drastically alter his tactical preparations without his talismanic attacker.
Medical staff anticipate that Kroupi will be sidelined for up to four months as he begins an extensive rehabilitation programme.
The news comes as a bitter disappointment for a player who enjoyed a scintillating breakthrough season in English football last term after arriving from Lorient in 2025.
The versatile attacker registered a highly impressive 13 goals across 33 top-flight appearances to help Bournemouth secure European qualification, naturally attracting concrete interest from several elite clubs.
This untimely spell on the treatment table will almost certainly end any realistic prospect of a lucrative summer departure from the Vitality Stadium.
Based on current market updates, reported suitors such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are now expected to pursue alternative targets rather than gamble on an injured player.
Bournemouth will ironically feel a slight sense of relief that their prized asset is now highly likely to remain at the club while he completes his recovery process.