Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter has disclosed that he could miss the first two matches of the Premier League season due to injury.

The 25-year-old was forced to withdraw from international duty with the Republic of Ireland due to hip and groin injuries, and has been unable to play in the club's pre-season matches, including their 2-1 defeat to Salisbury United.

Arter has admitted that he was greatly disappointed to learn that he could miss the first two games of the campaign, but is now doing his utmost to ensure that his stay on the sidelines is not lengthy.

"It was horrible [realising I may miss the first game], it really was, but before that the main thing was trying to find out what was wrong with me. That was probably the worst thing," he told the club's official website.

"I was going to different people and it took a good few weeks before I found out exactly what was wrong with me, so I'm hoping he has got it right and there won't be more bad news. I may miss the first couple of games but the most important thing is getting myself fit.

"I'm quite positive now actually. I've got a clear pattern of how things will go now and I'm looking forward to doing the rehab and getting fit. It is an injury where there isn't really a timescale on it, but it's not really long term so we will see how my body reacts to the rehab. I'm hoping maybe in the next few weeks I'll be back training properly."

Arter made 43 appearances for the Cherries in all competitions last season, scoring eight goals.