AFC Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake may well have made his final appearance in a Cherries shirt.
The Netherlands international and Dean Court favourite limped off during the first half of the game against Leicester City. Ake was forced into a diving stretching block tackle following a mistake by international team-mate Danjuma, his wayward pass gifted possession to Leicester City and England striker Jamie Vardy, who failed to take advantage of the mistake, but it still came at a cost to Ake who appeared to hurt the upper part of his leg.
AFC Bournemouth have three games of the elongated 2019/20 season remaining, with games against Manchester City on Wednesday, followed by the visit of Southampton to Dean Court on Sunday and the final game of the season away at Everton on the 26th July.
AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe told Sky Sports immediately after the victory over Leicester City…
“It doesn’t look too good. With such a short time left of the season, it looks like it’s going to be difficult for him to play.”
Nathan Ake’s association with AFC Bournemouth began in July 2016 when he made the move to the south coast on loan from Chelsea. Ake made 12 appearances in all competitions, including 8 Premier League starts before he was recalled by Chelsea midway through the season. He would go on to make three appearances in the FA Cup and two appearances in the Premier League for Chelsea before returning to AFC Bournemouth at the end of that season.
The Cherries signed Ake from Chelsea for £20million in June 2017, setting a then-new club-record for a fee paid for a player.
He has gone on to make a further 109 appearances for AFC Bournemouth including 104 starts in the top flight of English football.
However, prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, he was being heavily linked with a summer move back to Chelsea. Whilst Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City have all been linked with an interest in Ake over the past year.
With AFC Bournemouth remaining three points from safety in the Premier League with just three games remaining, their Premier League status is still on the line at it will, no doubt, heavily pain Ake to be watching on from the sidelines without being able to influence the team’s fate.
Your say…
billythekid wrote…
Been one of our most reliable players.
Would have liked to have had him for the last three games, not only his defending, he has come up with some important goals for us as well. – Join the conversation, have your say.
