Bruno Guimaraes makes Newcastle United injury & Sandro Tonali claim ahead of Champions League decider

Bruno Guimaraes believes Newcastle United can still progress to the last-16 of the Champions League despite back-to-back defeats and an injury crisis.

Newcastle sat top of Group F in the Champions League after two matches. But after consecutive defeats against Borussia Dortmund, The Magpies sit bottom and must avoid defeat in their next Champions League match at Paris Saint-Germain in order to keep their hopes of progressing alive.

After PSG, Newcastle host AC Milan in their final group stage match at St James' Park.

Newcastle currently have 12 players nursing injuries plus the 10-month suspension for Sandro Tonali for breaching Italian betting regulations.

And when asked to explain Newcastle's recent struggles on the pitch, Guimaraes pointed to the club's ongoing injury crisis.

"We are missing very important players like Tonali, [Sven] Botman and [Alexander] Isak," Guimaraes told MilanNews.It.

When asked about Tonali's ban, the Brazilian added: "I can't say it hasn't affected us. But I prefer not to comment on this matter, it's his business. We have to fight for this shirt and win again."

Guimaraes is currently away on international duty with Brazil and is set to return from suspension after the break as Newcastle host Chelsea in the Premier League before travelling to Paris.

The 26-year-old's most recent match for Newcastle came in the 2-0 defeat at Dortmund last week, a match in which he felt the side 'played badly'.

"With Borussia Dortmund things didn't work in the first leg and the second leg," he added. "We knew they had a good team but we played badly.

"For us that defeat is a big disappointment, it's true that we weren't at full strength but that's no excuse. We are frustrated but we still have two games against PSG and Milan.

"We have to play both to win so we can go through. We believe in qualifying."

Newcastle head into their final group-stage matches knowing two wins would guarantee qualification while four points would leave them depending on results from elsewhere in the group. Anything less than four points and The Magpies will be knocked out.

A third-place finish in the group would see Newcastle advance to the preliminary knockout round for the last-16 of the Europa League.