CONCERNED Cherries star Steve Fletcher faces an anxious wait to discover if his injury jinx has struck again.

Fletcher was restored to the starting line up for the first time this season during Cherries' 2-1 defeat at Chesterfield on Saturday.

But his comeback was cut short after he suffered a recurrence of the long-term knee problem which has plagued him since July.

Fletcher felt a sharp pain on the outside of his knee as he challenged for a header and was substituted after 66 minutes at Saltergate.

And although the 29-year-old has admitted he is "worried" about the condition of his knee, he is also hoping it will only prove to be a minor setback.

Fletcher said: "I won't know the extent of the damage for a couple of days and I will just have to wait and see how the knee reacts.

"There was no initial swelling which is a good sign, but you are obviously going to be worried when you have been out for 18 weeks. Sean told me to come off straight away if I felt anything and I felt a twinge after I had backed off to head a ball at the far post.

"It was similar to what happened against Bristol Rovers when I first did the injury and there was a sharp pain on the outside of my knee.

"It's disappointing because I have been flying in training. I have been sprinting, turning and twisting and I've not had any reaction.

"I've had good days and bad days since the operation in the summer, but I haven't felt anything in the past couple of weeks.

"The specialist said I might get a few little problems now and then, but it is a worry because it's at the back of my mind all the time.

"Only time will tell and I should know more in the next couple of days. It's disappointing, but hopefully it's just a small hiccup."

Cherries, unbeaten in their previous five games, crashed to their sixth away league defeat of the season despite taking the lead at Chesterfield.

Warren Feeney's superb 27th-minute opener was cancelled out by David Reeves seven minutes later before Jon Howard netted the winner a minute from time.

Cherries boss Sean O'Driscoll said: "I thought we were just a bit naive in the sense that we went for the second goal.

"At 1-0, we could have killed the game off, but got caught and paid the penalty for trying to get another.

"They equalised from a quickly taken corner that we weren't set up for and people were hurried for their second goal. We just lost a bit of control."

O'Driscoll was forced to shuffle his resources after ever-present utility man James Hayter failed a late fitness test on a hip injury and Derek Holmes lined up just behind the front two.

Holmes is expected to finally complete his transfer from Ross County today when he signs a three-and-a-half year contract.