Bournemouth have been boosted by the news the injury suffered by Tyrone Mings at the weekend is not as bad as first feared.

Mings was forced off during the first half of Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Wolves with what appeared to be a back injury.

But manager Eddie Howe has allayed fears the defender faces a lengthy lay-off.

He told the club website: "Tyrone Mings' injury isn't as bad as we first thought.

"He took a knock to his hip and at first we thought he could be out for weeks but by the looks of things it looks more like he'll be out for days, so we're monitoring him."

Nevertheless Mings, striker Callum Wilson and captain Simon Francis are doubts for Wednesday night's Carabao Cup quarter-final at Chelsea.

Howe added: "Callum Wilson had a hamstring problem and we rushed him back to be fit for Wolves. We still have to be careful with him to make sure he can perform over the coming games.

"Simon Francis has a groin problem. It's more of a niggle than anything else, we'll wait and see how he performs this week. I can't give a clear answer on his availability for Chelsea.

"The options are less than I'd normally have, we do have a number of injury concerns so we'll have to manage the squad well, picking a team that we think can play very well without risking the players we have."

Bournemouth will head to Stamford Bridge looking to reach the last four of a major cup competition for the first time.

"It's a great game for us, we're very excited to be in the competition and trying to get to the semi-final," said Howe.

"It's well documented that we've never been in a major cup semi-final before, so what greater incentive can we have? We're very excited to try and make that happen.

"We have a massive hurdle to overcome, one I really want my players and staff to relish and try to rise to."