Eddie Howe reveals Bruno Guimaraes fitness update as Newcastle United club captain left out of squad
.jpg?width=96&crop=1:1,smart)
Newcastle United v Bradford City: Eddie Howe has explained the importance of keeping Bruno Guimaraes fit and injury free this season.
Eddie Howe believes that team captain Bruno Guimaraes will greatly benefit from being rested on Sunday ahead of a busy fixture list for both club and country. The Brazilian had started 68 Premier League matches in a row before being named on the bench for their goalless draw with Bournemouth on Sunday.
Guimaraes remained an unused substitute at the Vitality Stadium - marking the first game he had missed entirely for the club since November 2023. Coincidentally, that game was also away at Bournemouth as Guimaraes served a one-match ban after picking up five yellow cards.
Guimaraes has put in a number of full-throttle performances for Newcastle United this season, whilst he also featured in both of Brazil’s matches during the last international period. The second of those games came away at Bolivia in a stadium located over 4000m above sea level.
Speaking to the Gazette, Howe praised his captain for his efforts in a gruelling schedule last week and has reiterated the importance of keeping the former Lyon man as fit as possible: “It [rest] will be absolutely crucial,” Howe responded. “We need to look after Bruno at the right times.
“I thought last week was an incredible shift when you look back at what he gave us against Wolves to play in the manner he did that game when he was clearly tired after all the travelling he had done. To back that up against Barcelona, you could see again he was tired towards the end of that game, he had given everything.
The Gazette has launched a new WhatsApp NUFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join our NUFC WhatsApp channel.
“I felt we had to protect him in the next game looking at all the numbers that we get and hopefully he will benefit from that rest in the next few weeks.”
Eddie Howe explains Jamaal Lascelles role after Champions League squad omission
One man who could also feature against Bradford City tonight is club captain Jamaal Lascelles. Lascelles returned to competitive action for the first time since March 2024 at the weekend when he replaced Malick Thiaw in the final minutes of Sunday’s game.
Lascelles wasn’t included in Newcastle United’s Champions League ‘List A’ squad by Howe and so won’t be able to play in that competition during the league phase.
"I think he was disappointed,” Howe explained when asked about that decision. “Because he's a winner and he wants to compete and he wants to play like everybody else does.
“But of course, coming back from his serious knee injury, he's done really well to come back in the way that he has. He looks in great shape, but obviously that was a big blow for him.
“And of course, now competition in that position is really hot. We've got some really, really good defenders at the football club and Jamal is one of them."
On Lascelles’ role within the squad, Howe added: "Well, his role is such an important one. He's an absolute leader of the group and he'll be in a group of players that is fighting for minutes.
“But I think for Jamal, he's such a role model in terms of how he conducts himself and how he behaves and how he trains, a vocal presence as well. We're going to need him to keep to those standards because he really is a great culture setter for us."