EDDIE Howe was quick to allay fears over his troublesome knee after his late withdrawal from the LDV Vans Trophy defeat at League Two side Shrewsbury Town.

Cherries went down to a 3-2 defeat at Gay Meadow, despite a late rally that gave them hope of coming back from three goals down.

But it was the loss of Howe in the warm-up that was most worrying for the travelling Cherries fans as Derek Holmes stepped up from substitute at the last minute to start in attack.

Howe, on loan from Portsmouth, told the Daily Echo: "My knee just felt a little bit sore in the warm-up so we decided to not risk it as a precaution.

"I have had so many games lately and with all the travelling we have done, I just think my knee was telling me it needed a little bit of a rest. The last thing I want to do is play when I shouldn't and do something serious to it.

"But I'm sure I will be fit for Saturday, no problem at all."

The popular defender revealed his disappointment at the result but stressed it was more important to look after his long-term fitness.

He said: "You get little niggles now and again but this is the first time I have felt it on the day of the game.

"But it is no big deal - it is certainly nothing serious.

"I was disappointed I couldn't play - especially as we lost - but I think it was the right decision.

"Sean understood the problem and we both agreed there was no point in taking the risk."

The late change to Sean O'Driscoll's side meant Wade Elliott having to fill in at right-back, the returning Neil Young thrust into central defence and James Hayter dropping into midfield to accommodate the late change.

O'Driscoll,who also lost Marcus Browning at half-time with his ongoing calf niggle, stressed it had been the right decision.

"We need Eddie for Saturday so we thought it was sensible to leave him out. We have had a hectic time of late.

"Shaun Maher's Achilles has been troubling him, Neil Moss had a back strain and John Spicer's calf wasn't ready. We need to look at the bigger picture but it meant three positional changes when we lost Eddie in the warm-up."

O'Driscoll also lamented his side's defending as they conceded three goals that could have been avoided as they ultimately crashed out of the competition.

He said: "We gave away three silly goals and it is always difficult to recover from that. But we came here to win and I'm disappointed we didn't manage to get ourselves back into it."

First published: September 29