Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola has revealed Marcos Senesi could be in the squad for Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City.
The international window may have come at the right time for the Cherries after they failed to win any of their four Premier League matches before the two-week break (D1, L3).
Those results saw Bournemouth drop to 10th place in the Premier League table, although they are only four points adrift of the top five with nine league games left to play.
The Cherries will resume their Premier League campaign in Wednesday’s home meeting with Ipswich Town, but first, they will compete in the FA Cup quarter-finals for the third time in their history.
Bournemouth will attempt to eliminate seven-time FA Cup winners Man City in Sunday’s clash at the Vitality Stadium.
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Senesi set to return to matchday squad
Bournemouth could receive a boost for the quarter-final tie, with Senesi on course to feature in a matchday squad for the first time since November.
Iraola is hopeful that Senesi will be on the bench for Sunday’s fixture, while he also provided an update on Julian Araujo and Adam Smith.
“All the players that were with their international teams have come back and trained today,” Iraola told reporters in Friday’s pre-match conference.
“We have had a couple of good weeks working well with Marcos and Julian. Adam is starting to do some things, so overall we’ve had good news.
“Marcos definitely cannot play a 90-minute game now, but he’s going to be in the squad and he can help us.”
Bournemouth will be without Luis Sinisterra and Enes Unal due to injury, while Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez are set to serve one-match bans, having picked up two yellow cards in the FA Cup this term.
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Bournemouth out to achieve first-team feat
Iraola has previous experience of steering a team to the semi-finals of a cup competition after previously leading Mirandes and Rayo Vallecano to the last four of the Copa del Rey in Spain.
The 42-year-old is now looking to lead Bournemouth to the FA Cup semi-finals for the very first time in their history.
“We have a big opportunity this weekend,” Iraola said. “We know the challenge, we know who we face, but the reward is very big.”
The Cherries will draw inspiration from the fact they have already beaten Man City at the Vitality Stadium this season, claiming a 2-1 victory in November’s Premier League fixture.
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