Bournemouth boss Jason Tindall has claimed that he left Philip Billing out of yesterday's goalless draw with QPR for 'tactical reasons'.

The Danish international had played a part in every Cherries game so far this season, so it was a real surprise to see that he wasn't even on the bench for the game against the R's and it understandably sparked fears that the 24-year-old was injured.

However, speaking to the Bournemouth Echo, Tindall explained the situation and insisted that there's nothing wrong with the midfielder and suggested he has been below par in training.

"It was just a tactical thing. I have to pick what I feel is the best team and the best squad each game and I felt the squad that was chosen today was the best squad based on what I’ve seen in the past couple of weeks in training."

Jefferson Lerma, Lewis Cook and Dan Gosling were the preferred midfield trio for the clash and it will be interesting to see whether Billing returns for Wednesday's tough trip to Cardiff City.

The verdict

This was a real surprise and I'm not sure that many will believe Tindall when he says it's tactical as you don't just leave such a proven player out of the squad.

He's clearly sending a message to Billing that he needs to improve quickly and if he hasn't been performing in training then it's the right call from the boss.

But, he needs to get Billing back on side as he should have a big role to play in Bournemouth's promotion push this season.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.