Newcastle United were missing some key players as they struggled against local rivals Sunderland at St James’ Park on Sunday.
Sandro Tonali was not in the squad after the injury he picked up in the battering in Barcelona didn’t heal quickly enough for him to be involved. It was a huge blow considering we were already missing Bruno Guimaraes.
Lewis Miley, who had targeted the second leg against Barcelona for a comeback, still wasn’t in the squad as his dead leg must now be at the stage of just dropping off.
After travelling to Barcelona with the lads, we had expected Bruno Guimaraes to be in the stadium to cheer on the lads on Sunday. Sandro Tonali was watching on from the stands, but there was no sign of Bruno.
The Newcastle skipper took to Instagram to share why he was absent from St James’ Park, and in doing so, gave Newcastle fans something else to worry about, confirming that he has mumps.
Not only is he stuck in Barcelona and having to isolate for the next five days, it seems he’ll be needing to limit physical exercise ‘for a bit longer’, based on doctors orders.
In a post on social media yesterday, Bruno said:
“The only reason I’m not at the stadium in Newcastle is that after our flight back from Barcelona, I noticed my face was swollen and thought I was having an allergic reaction.
“But the next day when I woke up, I realized it was much more than that.
“I sent a photo to the doctor and he came to examine me. It was confirmed that I have mumps, and I need to remain in isolation for 5 days and stay away from physical activities for a bit longer.
“My focus now is to recover and be 100% as soon as possible.”
Mumps for adults is no joke. a contagious viral infection causing fever, headache, and swelling of the salivary glands. Adults can experience severe symptoms and higher complication risks than children, including infertility, meningitis, and hearing loss, so we hope the skipper is looking after himself and we wish him a speedy recovery.
This diagnosis leaves us wondering whether Bruno will be back for Crystal Palace on 12th April. It’s three weeks away, but the doctor’s advice is to isolate and stay away from physical activities.
Even if it is just a week without training, that could set his recovery back, so we may not see Bruno Guimaraes back on the pitch until Bournemouth on the 18th.
It’s another blow in a season that feels like it has been littered with them, but the health and fitness of our players is paramount, and getting everything right so that he’s 100% when he does return is the main concern.