Joe Buck reacts as Eddie Howe previews Newcastle United v Athletic Club
Newcastle United v Athletic Club: Bruno Guimaraes missed training ahead of the Champions League clash at St James’ Park on Wednesday.
Guimaraes missed training on Tuesday ahead of the match due to illness but has dropped a big hint regarding his availability on social media just hours before kick-off.
Tino Livramento and Yoane Wissa are already ruled out for the match with knee injuries while Jamaal Lascelles, Harrison Ashby, John Ruddy and Mark Gillespie are ineligible due to not being included in Newcastle’s Champions League squad.
Kieran Trippier missed the 3-1 defeat at West Ham United on Sunday due to illness. While the right-back his since returned to training ahead of the Bilbao game, illness has spread through the squad.
Bruno Guimaraes late fitness test
Sandro Tonali previously suffered with illness along with Jacob Murphy, Trippier and now Guimaraes.
Speaking ahead of the match, Howe said: “Yeah, so there seems like there's been a bit of illness going through the squad because that's various players now have picked something up.
“So I think Sandro initially, Jacob Murphy, Bruno, Kieran. So we're making a decision on Bruno tomorrow.
“He's such an important player for us, but he's clearly not been himself and that's why he missed training today.”
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Bruno Guimaraes drops big hint
In the build-up to the Athletic Club match on Wednesday, Guimaraes took to social media to post a preview image of the match featuring himself on Instagram.
While not always a guarantee, such posts are often a sign of a player’s involvement in the upcoming match. It would come as a boost for Newcastle given Guimaraes’ importance to the side as captain, but it remains to be seen whether he will keep his place in the starting line-up if he is indeed fit enough to make the squad.
Eddie Howe considering changes v Athletic Club
With Guimaraes a doubt and the side struggling for consistency, Howe was asked whether he would consider making a ‘statement’ with his team selection on Wednesday evening.
A win for Newcastle would see them up to nine points from four Champions League games, giving the side a high chance of progressing to the knockout stages.
“Yeah, I don't really know what [a statement selection] that means,” Howe added. “I think I'll always consider the team selection in great detail, in great length.
“I never set out to make a statement. I'll set out to try and pick a team to win the next game. That's the only statement that we need to make.
“And so that's what I'll try and do on this occasion. Difficult team to pick, I think, off the back of Sunday because you could make wholesale changes or you could give the main group of players a chance to redeem themselves for what they delivered or what we delivered.
“So, yeah, I'm still not 100% there with my team, although it's 99% there.”
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