Gary O'Neil has revealed that his side's preparations for their return to Premier League action have been hampered by a 'nasty virus' going through the squad.
Bournemouth played their first game in over five weeks on Tuesday as they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle after losing 1-0 at St James' Park.
Prior to that clash, O'Neil admitted that he was limited with who he could pick due to the virus affecting his players, and the team now have just six days to recover before they face Chelsea in the Premier League on Tuesday.
'We’ve had a tricky last 10 days,' O'Neil said.
'A real bad virus went through the group, so we’ll have to make a few last-minute calls on a few. The boys, some of them have missed real long spells with it, so up to 10 days.
'Some of them have missed training. It was a nasty one.'
Bournemouth's trip to Stamford Bridge will be their first top-flight match since O'Neil was handed the manager's job on a permanent basis.
O'Neil was placed in interim charge after the club sacked Scott Parker at the end of August, and started his reign by taking the Cherries on a six-match unbeaten run.
This was followed by four straight defeats, and the club held talks with Marcelo Bielsa over taking the manager's hotseat.
However, these discussions stalled, and O'Neil won his final two games before the season paused for the World Cup, convincing the Bournemouth hierarchy that he is the right man for the job.
Bournemouth's 3-0 win over Everton in their last league outing has given them some breathing space, with the team three points above the drop zone, and O'Neil must now wait to see whether he has a fully-fit squad to choose from when they travel to west London next week.