Newcastle United refused to release Almiron for the last round of international games, because he would have had to quarantine for 10 days on his return to England. However, Steve Bruce confirmed after yesterday’s 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers that Almiron would travel to South America for World Cup qualifiers against Argentina, Chile and Bolivia.
Paraguay remains on the UK’s coronavirus “red list”, but the Government will now allow vaccinated players to train and play on their return to the country.
Asked if Almiron would link up with Paraguay during the international break, Bruce said: “Yeah, he’s going.”
The defeat to Wolves at Molineux left the club second-bottom of the Premier League with three points from seven games.
"There was nothing in it either way,” said head coach Bruce. “I didn’t think we deserved to get beaten. The first thing I always do is analyse myself, could I do anything differently? I always analyse that. We will have a look at the game, I didn’t think we deserved to get beaten, but I’ve said that too many times.
“It’s another one which has crept away from us. We’ll go to work again, and hopefully we can get some of our injured players back.
“We’re in the Premier League, we’re one of four (sides) who haven’t had the win. We’re still searching for it.
“It’s been so close, but I keep saying the same thing, I didn’t think we deserved to lose.”
We’ve gathered the best of today’s Premier League chatter below...
9. Ashley won't sack Bruce
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley won't sack manager Steve Bruce as his priority remains to find a buyer for the club. Ashley would have to hand Bruce and his backroom staff a pay-off to terminate their contracts early and therefore the Newcastle owner has backed him to turn things around. (The Sun) (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) Photo: Catherine Ivill