'He wasn't' - Bruno Guimaraes shocks Eddie Howe with Newcastle United fitness claim after Athletic Club win
Newcastle United 2-0 Athletic Club: Eddie Howe was boosted by the availability of Bruno Guimaraes for Wednesday’s Champions League clash.
Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes played through illness to keep his place in the starting line-up and help the side to a 2-0 win over Athletic Club in the Champions League.
Guimaraes missed training on Tuesday ahead of the match but was named in the starting line-up the following day as goals from Dan Burn and Joelinton helped The Magpies claim a third straight Champions League win to move up to sixth in the group phase table.
With four games played, Newcastle have lost to Barcelona before convincingly beating Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and now Athletic Club. After the international break they face trips to Marseille and Bayer Leverkusen before hosting PSV Eindhoven in the new year and ending their group phase campaign away to holders Paris Saint-Germain.
But first The Magpies will have to address their Premier League form, starting this Sunday at Brentford (2pm kick-off).
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Bruno Guimaraes admits illness struggles
Guimaraes was able to get through 65 minutes of Newcastle’s Champions League win on Wednesday night before he was replaced by Lewis Miley.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, the Brazilian admitted he wasn’t quite at 100% for the match.
"We were not at our best but we got the result,” Guimaraes said. “We were consistent. It's another win at home and it's nine points out of 12. We have to keep going.
"For me, it was like something was holding me with 10kg on my back. For this club, I will do everything. I started feeling ill the day before we played West Ham.”
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Eddie Howe surprised by Bruno Guimaraes comment after NUFC win
Despite Guimaraes’ fitness issues, Howe opted to start the midfilder ahead of the likes of Miley, Jacob Ramsey and Joe Willock.
So when Guimaraes’ comment about playing as if he had 10kg on his back was put to Howe after the game, the Newcastle boss was understandably surprised.
“He wasn’t saying that to me this morning!” Howe smirked. “He said he was feeling a million dollars this morning - that’s news to me.
“No, in all seriousness, his character is undoubted. His will to play is so strong. I had a detailed talk with him today and he assured me he’d be fit to produce the performance the team needed, while probably acknowledging that he wasn’t at 100% fitness.
“That’s why we withdrew him when we did, to try and protect him. But I think we lost a little bit when he came off, speaking honestly, that’s how important he is to us. I thought he performed very well.”
On the performance and result itself, Howe added: “I don’t think I’ve discovered anything new.
“I think we’ve got some very, very good players. I think we’ve got a squad full of good attitudes that want to do well and want to win.