Newcastle United sent 'real' injury 'warning' after £43m duo ruled out & Leeds United record broken

Goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon saw Newcastle claim an impressive Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg win at the Emirates Stadium. But it also marked the club’s first win without Guimaraes since the Brazilian arrived in January 2022.

The 27-year-old was suspended for the match having picked up a yellow card in the 3-1 quarter-final win over Brentford last month.

Of the seven games Guimaraes had missed for Newcastle prior to Tuesday night, the club had drawn four and lost three - winning none. So the semi-final first-leg victory over The Gunners marked an important milestone for Newcastle.

Not since a 1-0 away win at Leeds United in January 2022 had Newcastle won a competitive match without Guimaraes as part of the squad.

“It's important we're able to win without anyone,” Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said after the match. “The team has to be the strength, not the individual.

“We miss Bruno whenever he doesn't play for us because he's got obvious qualities.”

Fabian Schar also missed a second successive match due to suspension. The duo will be back available for selection in Sunday’s FA Cup match at home to Bromley with Howe set to rotate his side.

“I don't think you should ignore Fabian's absence because he has been a key player for us and very reliable,” Howe added.

“We won today without those two players which is a great sign for us because there is strength and depth in the squad, although not huge in numbers.”

Howe went on to admit his side were sent a ‘real warning’ to look after his players with the likes of Isak and Sven Botman picking up muscle issues during the victory over The Gunners. Botman was able to get through the full match despite suffering from a groin issue in just his second appearance since a near 10-month ACL injury layoff.

But Isak was withdrawn after 65 minutes after feeling his hamstring at half-time.

Howe continued: “Half-time was a real warning to us that the players are giving everything physically and we need to look after them.”