Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has revealed Tyler Adams will miss the start of the new Premier League season after undergoing back surgery.
Adams joined the Cherries from Leeds United last summer in a deal worth over £20m (per BBC Sport) but has been beset by injury troubles.
The United States international was restricted to four appearances across all competitions, notching up just 118 minutes of Premier League action.
However, that didn’t stop Adams from being called into the US squad for this summer’s Copa America, with the 25-year-old playing all three group matches to the tune of 180 minutes — as well as 14 minutes in a pre-tournament friendly against Brazil.
The Stars and Stripes suffered a shock group stage exit from the tournament with back-to-back defeats to Panama (2-1) and Uruguay (1-0) after they beat Bolivia 2-0 in their opening match.
But by then, the damage was already done, with Iraola admitting Adams’ desperation to play at Copa America only serving to aggravate a back injury he picked up toward the end of the domestic season.
“He finished the season with an injury in his back,” said the Spanish coach.
“He wanted to play Copa America because it was very important for him, but he had restrictions and was still in pain, so two days after they were knocked out, he had surgery.
“He is out for some time. It is difficult to say how long but he won’t be fit for the start of the season. But September? October? I don’t know.”
Pushed further on the issue of why Adams was called up in the first place, Iraola insisted the club had no say in the matter.
He added: “It was not our choice. It is a decision for the nations, who are allowed to select players, and he wanted to play thinking the injury would get better but he felt it was getting worse.”