CHERRIES boss Eddie Howe admitted Benik Afobe and Callum Wilson could make an exciting frontline pairing but warned: "Any change must be for the long-term gain of the team."

Having netted five goals in Cherries' first six Premier League games, Wilson sustained a serious knee injury at Stoke in September and Howe last week said that the former Coventry hitman would be back "around April".

The Dorset side bolstered their frontline resources in the January transfer window with the signings of Afobe and Lewis Grabban, the former hitting the ground running with three goals in five games.

Cherries have utilised a one-striker system for much of the season but Howe indicated that formation changes were the subject of constant review.

And asked about the prospect of a Wilson-Afobe combination, the boss told the Daily Echo: "It could be exciting.

"It's a big thing when you sign players that you have to have a vision for your team. It's all very well bringing players in but you have to have a vision, not just for now but for the future.

"We have our ideas of what we could and couldn't do but you never know what is round the corner.

"I think Benik can play alongside Callum and I think Lewis and Joshua King can play alongside all of our strikers, although Glenn Murray might be slightly different in terms of the type of player he is.

"We have a healthy mix of strikers that can play alongside each other.

"One thing you don't want to do is put players together and change the dynamic and then find the team is not successful.

"It's got to be about what works for the team first and foremost. Any change we make must be for the long-term gain of the team."

Howe hinted in mid-January that Wilson could be forced to miss out on a spot in Cherries' Premier League squad altogether due to the severity of his knee injury.

But having re-declared his 25-man pool of players at the start of this month, Howe admitted that the decision to include the 23-year-old had been anything but tricky.

Howe said: "For me, it wasn't a difficult decision at all. I didn't have to think long. If you have a chance of having Callum Wilson available, even if it is only for three or four games, I was quite prepared to take that risk and put him in the squad.

"It's not only what he can deliver on the pitch but also the effect he can have on his team-mates. Hopefully, when he does come back it will be a huge boost for everyone psychologically.

"I envisage him coming back in really good shape and if there is one player who has got the mental strength to deal with what's happened to him and the motivation to come back a better player, it's Callum.

"The beauty of the signings we made in January means that the pressure to put him back into the team isn't there and we can do what's best for Callum."