'He had given everything': Eddie Howe talks about Bruno Guimaraes' fitness after challenging period
Bruno Guimaraes finally got a break on Sunday as the Brazil star was rested for Newcastle United's Premier League clash with Bournemouth.
It was the first time the captain had missed a game in 68 matches, but after a gruelling time playing in the dizzying heights of Bolivia with Brazil, only to start against Wolves a couple of days later, and then to follow that up with a Champions League tie against Barcelona, a rest was certainly due.
We've no doubt that Bruno would have hated sitting on the bench on Sunday, as he'd prefer to play in every game.
However, Eddie Howe is determined to manage the fitness of his players this season with so many extra games on the agenda, thanks to the club's involvement in the Champions League.
Eddie Howe needs to manage his players this season
With all the data available to coaches these days, there's no excuse for pushing players beyond their limits, and Eddie Howe acknowledged that when speaking to The Shields Gazette.
“It [rest] will be absolutely crucial. We need to look after Bruno at the right times.
“I thought last week was an incredible shift when you look back at what he gave us against Wolves to play in the manner he did that game when he was clearly tired after all the travelling he had done. To back that up against Barcelona, you could see again he was tired towards the end of that game, he had given everything.
“I felt we had to protect him in the next game looking at all the numbers that we get and hopefully he will benefit from that rest in the next few weeks.”
Bruno Guimaraes is likely to start for Newcastle again tonight
We expect Bruno will be reinstated tonight as Newcastle take on Bradford in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
As for the rest of the team, we honestly have no idea at this point. Eddie Howe has some big calls to make, and while he has promised to go strong with this selection, we're pretty sure it will be far from full strength.
We've got to back all of our players, especially against a lower-league side, so whoever Eddie Howe picks should have what it takes to win tonight.
