Bruno Guimaraes & unexpected injury boost as UEFA rules force Newcastle United to replace player in squad
Newcastle United injury news: Eddie Howe’s side have been boosted by the return of Bruno Guimaraes and another player to the matchday squad.
Newcastle United face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday night (8pm kick-off).
Bruno Guimaraes travelled and trained with the first-team squad after missing Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa due to an ankle injury.
While head coach Eddie Howe didn’t confirm Guimaraes’ availability for the PSG game, he hinted the Brazilian would be subject to a late fitness test with a cryptic injury update.
“[Guimaraes] is with us and we’ll know more in the next few hours,” Howe said.
That was before the Newcastle captain was spotted in training at Parc des Princes on Tuesday evening.
In addition to Guimaraes, there was also another returning first-team player following a spell on the sidelines due to injury.
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NUFC double injury return
Jacob Murphy has missed four of Newcastle’s last five matches due to a hamstring problem. The winger missed the FA Cup third round win against Bournemouth as a precaution before returning to the starting line-up and suffering a hamstring injury in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg defeat to Manchester City.
It has ruled him out of the matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers, PSV Eindhoven and Aston Villa. But now the winger is back with the first team squad and was pictured training in Paris ahead of the PSG game.
Speaking earlier this month, Howe said: “Jacob has had another [hamstring] scan, and again, nothing is showing, which is a strange one.
“You have to go on the symptoms and how the player feels. That'll probably mean a period that Jacob has to come out. How long, I don't know, but we're thankful it's not a serious problem and hopefully one we can overcome quickly.”
Newcastle United draft youngster into Champions League squad for first time since 2023
18-year-old Leo Shahar and 21-year-old Alex Murphy were once again with the Newcastle squad and will likely be named on the bench on Wednesday evening.
But Newcastle were forced to make a change to their Champions League squad this week following Max Thompson’s loan exit to Ayr United.
Thompson had been named on the bench for all of Newcastle’s previous seven Champions League matches as third-choice goalkeeper behind Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale. This is due to John Ruddy and Mark Gillespie not being included in the Champions League squad list.
UEFA rules require three goalkeepers to be named in the squad but one can be named on the ‘List B’ which is reserved for players born on or after January 1 2004, who have been registered to the club for at least two years.
Aidan Harris had previously been named on the bench for Newcastle’s Champions League match at AC Milan in 2023 and has recently returned from a loan spell at Coleraine. As a result, he has travelled to Paris to replace Thompson as part of Newcastle’s matchday squad in the Champions League once again.