CALLUM Wilson admits Cherries' trip to America feels like his second pre-season of the year – after returning from a serious knee injury a matter of months ago.

The highly-rated frontman made just 13 Premier League appearances last term having been stretchered off at Stoke in September.

He had made a flying start to the campaign, scoring five goals – including a hat-trick at West Ham in August – prior to rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament.

Wilson did not feature again until the trip to Aston Villa in April and made five further appearances before the end of the campaign.

The former Coventry City hitman had to undergo an intense spell of fitness-building prior to his comeback at Villa Park. And he admitted that after working so hard to get back to peak condition, the end of the campaign had come as an anti-climax.

Wilson, who was yesterday due to journey to Chicago with the Cherries squad, told the Daily Echo: "I did a three-month period on my own when I was doing my rehab, so that was like a pre-season by myself.

"Then I got fit and we had a six-week lay-off when everyone needed rest and I was raring to go.

"It was a bit hard to take but the stop-start period is over now. I maintained my fitness as much as I could throughout the off-season, so, hopefully, I will be in good shape.

"When you go away, it gives the manager an opportunity to get some good, hard work into you.

"The first few weeks of pre-season are key so when you are out there, it's not just one session a day like it would be at home, it's three sessions!

"You are up at the crack of dawn and training, then you have your lunch and you are back out, and you also do team bonding.

"It's good for everyone all round and it's a good chance to get plenty of fitness into your body.”

Wilson faces stiff competition up front for the upcoming season after Cherries splashed out on Benik Afobe and Lewis Grabban in the January transfer window, while flexible attacker Lys Mousset signed at the end of June.

But former England under-21s striker Wilson insists he welcomes a tough battle and backed boss Eddie Howe to bring in the right players for Cherries’ second top-flight campaign.

He added: "The manager knows what he is doing. When I signed there were thorough checks to make sure I fitted into the team spirit and the work ethic and other things.

"I'm sure whichever players come in will buy into that and will be successful at the club.

"We have a lot of strength in depth in the squad. There are a lot of players who didn't play a massive part in last season who are very good players.

"They will all be working hard throughout pre-season to get their place in the team and there will be players coming in that are trying to do that as well.

"It's going to be good. Competition is always healthy so it's only going to be a positive effect.”