DEFENSIVE DILEMMA

Cummings has been ruled out for at least a month after sustaining an ankle injury during Cherries' 2-1 win at Torquay in midweek.

The Scotsman's absence leaves O'Driscoll without the services of a recognised left-back for Cherries' trip to League One rivals Oldham Athletic tomorrow (Oct 23, 3pm kick-off).

And to compound the problem, O'Driscoll is also sweating on the fitness of Cummings's natural replacement Steve Purches who has filled in at left-back before.

The 24-year-old, who has managed just one substitute appearance this season, faces a race against time to be fit for the Boundary Park clash and O'Driscoll has described Purches as "the biggest worry".

O'Driscoll said: "It was always going to be a problem losing our only left-footed defender so we were aware of it and it's just one of those things. We can't carry anybody in the squad just for cover.

"Warren's our only natural left-back so without him it means we've either got to change the system or play somebody at left-back who's not played there much.

"There are one or two options but we'll just have to wait and see. We could change the system, we're flexible and we've got one or two people who could play there if pushed so I'm sure we'll cope."

Purches has been troubled by a nagging ankle injury since pre-season and aggravated the problem when his comeback was aborted after just 40 minutes at Brentford in September.

O'Driscoll added: "He played 45 minutes against Weymouth in a friendly last week, but hasn't really trained flat out and it would be a big ask to put him straight in.

"We've done it in the past and I think Stephen's probably got Brentford on his mind when he hurt it again, which put him back a month.

"It's players' careers and you don't want to mess with them. I'm sure if he's right and he thinks he can contribute then he'll be more than willing to play. He saw a specialist this week for an ongoing examination so we'll just have to see how he responds."

Cherries, with one win in their last 18 visits to Boundary Park, will be looking to maintain a fine six-match unbeaten run which has seen them climb into the League One play-off zone.

And they are likely to come up against a youthful Oldham side after boss Brian Talbot decided to wield the axe earlier this month following the Latics' poor start to the season.

O'Driscoll added: "We've been down the road of playing youngsters ourselves and when it's going well for them they are fantastic. They've got no fear and the crowd really get behind them. But the downside is that they lack experience and can make mistakes in crucial areas. But if you never make mistakes, you never learn. I'm sure he's (Talbot) done it to have the desired effect with his older pros so whether or not it's just a ploy and they've had the proverbial kick up the backside, we'll see if they come back."

Striker Jermaine Johnson is suspended after he was sent off in the midweek draw with Bristol City and his place is set to go to Matthew Barlow, one of three 17-year-olds in the squad.

Mark Bonner (broken foot) and John Eyre (hamstring) are both out injured, although Eyre would have also been banned after five bookings, while Rodney Jack is out for around eight weeks with medial ligament damage in his knee.

Cherries: (from) Moss, Young, Broadhurst, Howe, Elliott, G O'Connor, Stock, Spicer, Hayter, Maher, Fletcher, Holmes, Purches, Browning, Connell, Stewart.

Oldham Athletic: (from) Pogliacomi, Lomax, Haining, D Hall, Holden, Betsy, Appleby, Lee, Eyres, Barlow, Vernon, C Hall, Winn, Arber, Griffin, Boshell, Killen, Mawson.