Newcastle United could be without one of their main stars against Aston Villaplaceholder image
Newcastle United could be without one of their main stars against Aston Villa | Getty Images
Newcastle are likely to be without one of their best players against Aston Villa
Aston Villa have received a huge boost in the run-up to their FA Cup match against Newcastle United after Eddie Howe revealed that his team’s club captain Bruno Guimaraes remains a huge doubt.
Guimaraes is currently enjoying the best goalscoring season of his professional career. He’s registered an impressive nine goals and four assists from 23 league appearances this term and has been by some distance the team’s star performer this season.
The 28-year-old is hugely influential due to his technical ability, leadership and his defensive instincts along with his new found habit of consistently finding the back of the net. Statistically speaking, he often covers more ground than nearly every other player in the division and has been the glue that’s kept the team together as they bid to qualify for Europe for the third time in four full seasons under Howe’s management.
Howe reveals ‘worrying’ Guimaraes update
Aston Villa are expected to face Newcastle without their captain in a huge boost to their chances of progressing to the next round.
Guimaraes has never scored or assisted against Villa in eight appearances, but has been on the winning team five times and has often played an influential role as a deep-lying midfielder in these fixtures.
When discussing the likelihood of Guimaraes being involved in this one after leaving the pitch in discomfort at the end of the win over Tottenham, Howe said via Newcastle World: ”I’m not sure. He’s a little bit worried. He said he’s never had a problem with his hamstrings before.
“So is it cramp, was it a muscle problem? It probably feels more of an injury to me but let’s wait and see and try and stay positive at this moment.”
On Friday morning in a fresh update, Howe added further information about the Brazilian midfielder. He said: “With Bruno, we're awaiting the full extent of the hamstring injury. Bruno, the other night, I don't think he got the injury when he got the injury. I don't think there was any pre-injury.
“Obviously, at that stage of the game, he was getting fatigued. Maybe on a normal situation with a full bench, we would maybe have taken him off before that moment - but we didn't. We ran out of midfielders. So he stayed on the pitch and unfortunately got injured.”
Newcastle often struggle without Guimaraes
Guimaraes, who is renowned for his incredible fitness levels and availability, is a player that Newcastle often struggle to function without.
Since joining in January 2022, he’s made 189 appearances and helped the club climb from the bottom of the Premier League to a Champions League outfit while also forming part of the team which won the Carabao Cup.
However, the Magpies are yet to win a league match when Guimaraes hasn’t been on the pitch in some capacity, with the team claiming just five points from a possible 30 on offer without their talisman.
The Lions reached the semi-final of this competition last season and will hope to make further strides in this year’s edition as they target a first major trophy since the League Cup in 1996.
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