The former Newcastle man marked his return from an ankle injury with a double in their emphatic 3-0 win in south Wales to maintain his record of scoring in every cup game this season having netted at Exeter and at home to Northampton.

"He scored another two goals and two well-taken goals, he has got a habit of arriving in the box late and getting chances," Howe said.

"I'm really pleased he was able to take another two. That is four for the season and he has been slightly unfortunate not to have played more this season.

"He had been out injured for a week and it was great to see him back."

While he has thrived in the cup competitions, Gosling has made just one Championship start so far this season and Howe explained why his chances have been limited in the opening two months.

"It's just the strength of our midfield," Howe said. "We have a very talented central midfield unit with Andrew Surman, Eunan O'Kane and Harry Arter. Dan will play a big part as will Shaun MacDonald.

"You need a good squad of players. Depending what system we play they will all get a chance."

The Bournemouth boss also picked out Welsh midfielder MacDonald, who played for 75 minutes, for praise after his first appearance since their Capital One Cup win at Exeter back in the opening week of the season.

"Shaun hadn't trained for three weeks prior to Monday but what a performance he gave in midfield," he said. "That is a reflection on his attitude and his dedication that is he is able to come in and play like he did.

"It shows the strength in our midfield when you consider Andrew Surman was cup-tied. We really do have strength in that department."

Howe revealed that defender Steve Cook was suffering from a tight groin in the warm-up and they decided against risking the centre-back.