Fulham2 - 2Bournemouth

The Cherries came from behind on a couple of occasions to rescue a point from their final outing of the calendar year.

Evanilson netted a 51st-minute equaliser following Raul Jimenez's first-half opener, before Dango Ouattara came off the bench to score a late leveller to cancel out Harry Wilson's effort at Craven Cottage.

The crucial point was made even sweeter by the fact that Bournemouth were having to cope with a lengthy absentee list, which included USA international Adams.

The 25-year-old was a notable absentee from the matchday squad after playing a role in each of Bournemouth's three previous games.

Iraola provides Adams injury update

Speaking after the game, Iraola confirmed Adams had missed the game through injury, although he was confident that it was only a minor issue.

"He finished injured the other day, when he played the game against Palace," the Bournemouth boss told the Daily Echo.

"It's not something big. I think it's a small muscle, rotator or something like this, but obviously, he was injured."

The midfielder has struggled with injuries since he joined the South Coast side from Leeds United in the summer of 2023.

Adams was restricted to just three Premier League appearances during his first season with the Cherries, before he was forced to miss the start of the current campaign with a back problem.

The American has since returned to action to feature in nine Premier League matches this season, including five appearances as a starter.

Bournemouth will hope he can quickly shake off his current injury issue, with the Cherries set to begin 2025 with a home game against Everton on Saturday.

Bournemouth's injury woes

In addition to Adams, Iraola had to cope without a number of first-team regulars for Sunday's trip to Craven Cottage.

The Cherries were unable to call upon Adam Smith, Marcus Tavernier, Luis Sinisterra, Alex Scott, Marcos Senesi and Julian Araujo.

Regular start Justin Kluivert also missed the final game of 2024, serving a one-match suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Kluivert will come back into the fold for the first match of the new year, and Iraola will hope some other of his key players will return to action in the next few weeks to reduce the burden on his injury-hit squad.

Written by

Ben Sully