#PLStories- AFC Bournemouth’s Gary O’Neil on David Brooks return after injury #AFCB

Welsh international Brooks made his first senior start in 599 days as Cherries fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Manchester United. Brooks had missed the majority of the past two seasons after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in September 2021. An injury setback in the form a hamstring issue delayed his return, with the winger playing with Alan Connell’s development squad in the Hampshire Senior Cup. After four substitute appearances, Brooks played 56 minutes of Saturday’s contest before being replaced by fellow countryman Kieffer Moore. O’Neil told the Daily Echo: “I thought David did well. “Obviously he’s been out for a very long time. “First start, he showed a good energy, showed a good understanding of what we're trying to do as well. “It's obviously quite new for him but yes, still a part of the journey to go for Brooksy. “I think the summer will be very important for him. “Pre-season, report back in July or end of June, whenever it is, and it's a level playing field then. “I think the situation us being in a relegation battle, Brooksy being out for so long, very difficult from my point of view to give him enough time to see whether he's ready. “Whereas he can come back in pre-season, level playing field. “Hopefully Brooksy can impact the group and be ready to impact football matches every week.” Asked if the switch was pre-planned, O’Neil replied: “He can't play for too long at this moment, so we need to be careful with him. “He's worked so hard, he's earned his chance to start today, with how well he's done in training, but to have left him out there for much longer than the hour that he did would have been a risk. “We're not in a situation, thankfully, where we need to be taking too many risks.