Guimaraes and Joelinton travelled huge distances to play for Brazil during the international break.
Bruno Guimaraes clocked up a huge amount of air miles while on international duty for Brazil
Bruno Guimaraes clocked up a huge amount of air miles while on international duty for Brazil
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Eddie Howe admits Newcastle United will have to manage Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton carefully across the next couple of weeks so they 'don't run into trouble'.
The pair endured an 11,533 mile round trip to represent Brazil during their friendlies away in South Korea and Japan during the October international break.
They have also had to negotiate the eight hour time difference on their return to Newcastle from Tokyo and with seven games across the next three weeks, the physical toll of their international exploits will have to be managed carefully.
Guimaraes started both of those games as he cemented his place in Carlo Ancelotti's side ahead of the World Cup, while Joelinton managed just 33 minutes in their defeat to Japan.
Last month, Guimaraes also started both games for Brazil and played Bolivia at high altitude at the Estadio Municipal de El Alto, which is 4,088 metres above sea level.
The 27-year-old managed to play Wolves and Barcelona in the first two games after he returned but Howe was forced to rest him completely in the 0-0 draw at Bournemouth that followed.
And while Howe insists he doesn't see it as a negative that his players are clocking up huge distances when representing their national teams, he admits they have a responsibility to manage them correctly when they return to Newcastle.
"[It is] Tough mentally for those lads to have to travel all that way. I just think the rewards for them are so big," Howe added. "The players love playing for their countries so I don’t think they look at that as a negative.
"They look at that as a prize, really. They have to travel a long way, but ask any football fan, if they were given that opportunity, they would jump at it. I don’t see it as a negative.
"We have to look after them the other way. We have to understand what they have been through and try and make the right decisions so we don’t run into trouble with them physically and mentally.
"We will have conversations with all of the players and try and make the right call on what games we can involve them in and if we can give them a rest."
Newcastle take on Brighton on Saturday before welcoming Benfica to St James' Park on Tuesday evening. They also have league fixtures against Fulham, West Ham and Brentford, a Carabao Cup tie against Tottenham and another Champions League game against Athletic Bilbao before the next international break in November.
Howe is expected to rotate his squad throughout that period and it will be interesting to see where Guimaraes and Joelinton fit into those plans.