Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes produced another solid performance to help his side to a third win in four Champions League matches this season
Bruno Guimaraes fought off illness to play against Athletic Club
Bruno Guimaraes fought off illness to play against Athletic Club(Image: Getty Images)
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Bruno Guimaraes battled through illness to keep his place in the starting line-up for Newcastle United's 2-0 win against Athletic Club in the Champions League.
Guimaraes, 27, missed training on Tuesday ahead of the match but was named in the XI to face the La Liga side at St James' Park. He ended up playing 66 minutes and helping his side to a THIRD straight win in UEFA's top tier club competition.
Dan Burn gave Newcastle the lead with an inch-perfect header in the first half, before Joelinton doubled his team's advantage just after the interval. The Magpies are now on nine points from a possible 12 in the competition's league phase.
Speaking post-match, Guimaraes revealed he has been fighting an illness for the last four days but still wanted to feature against West Ham on Sunday and then Athletic Club.
He told TNT Sports: "For me, it was like something was holding me with 10kg on my back. For this club, I will do everything. I started feeling ill the day before we played West Ham."
Guimaraes then posted a message to the Newcastle fans on Instagram, saying: "9 of 12 in the @championsleague [black love heart emoji, white love heart emoji]. everything for you @nufc 39 [kiss emoji]."
Bruno Guimaraes arrives ahead of the UEFA Champion's League football match between Newcastle United and Athletic Bilbao
Bruno Guimaraes played through illness for Newcastle United against Athletic Club
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When asked about Guimaraes' comments in his post-match interview, Howe admitted he didn't know the Brazil international was struggling so much with an illness. "He wasn't saying that to me this morning!" Howe said. "He said he was feeling a million dollars this morning - that's news to me.
"No, in all seriousness, his character is undoubted. His will to play is so strong. I had a detailed talk with him today and he assured me he'd be fit to produce the performance the team needed, while probably acknowledging that he wasn't at 100% fitness.
"That's why we withdrew him when we did, to try and protect him. But I think we lost a little bit when he came off, speaking honestly, that's how important he is to us. I thought he performed very well."
Reflecting the performance and the result itself, Howe was pleased, admitting: "I don't think I've discovered anything new. I think we've got some very, very good players. I think we've got a squad full of good attitudes that want to do well and want to win.
"I don't see an issue in terms of will and desire. But we've got to try and put it together, and that's only going to come from really intense focus on this game coming up and a really good delivery of our plan."
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