Struggling Bournemouth counting the cost ahead of Tottenham trip

Bournemouth will have to take on in-form Tottenham amid mounting injury problems on Saturday.

Eddie Howe's side are second bottom of the Premier League, with a solitary win from their opening seven matches and life is unlikely to get much easier against Spurs.

Despite still being without a top-flight win at their temporary Wembley home, Mauricio Pochettino's men are unbeaten in eight games in all competitions and the international break did Bournemouth few favours in terms of preparations.

Brad Smith sustained a hip injury and limped out of Australia's World Cup play-off clash with Syria, while attackers Josh King and Ryan Fraser suffered hamstring problems while away with Norway and Scotland respectively.

"It was a difficult break for us because we seemed to pick up a lot of injuries," Howe told a pre-match news conference.

"Brad Smith looks like he has a nasty injury, we don't know the full extent of that but he could be out for a period out time. He has a hip problem.

"Ryan Fraser has a hamstring and again we don't know how serious that is; we don't think it's a long-term one. And Josh King is similar, we'll make a late decision on him this weekend."

Alongside playmaker Christian Eriksen, Howe identified an obvious dangerman for his struggling side to contend with.

"I think Harry Kane is an outstanding player. His finishing has been excellent but it's also a team effort too," he said of the England star, who netted 13 goals for club and country in September and sealed a pair of 1-0 wins for the Three Lions over Slovenia and Lithuania in his latest outings.

"Eriksen is one of a number of players key to Tottenham's style of play so we've got to try and keep them quiet."