It’s been a tough international break so far. We’ve seen key players return to Tyneside with injuries, England struggle in both of their games and Nick Pope make a costly error last night, but some good news has finally arrived ahead of Saturday’s trip to Fulham.
As revealed by The Mail’s Craig Hope, Bruno Guimaraes has been passed fit to face the Cottagers, suggesting the thigh problem that saw him withdraw from the Brazil squad early was simply precautionary.
Callum Wilson and Elliot Anderson are also set to return, with Jonjo Shelvey also close to an early comeback from a hamstring injury after making ‘excellent progress’ in recent weeks.
Hope reports that Allan Saint-Maximin is in with a chance of making the bench this weekend after missing our last four. The not-so-good news is that Alexander Isak, Chris Wood and Matt Ritchie – who has picked up a calf injury in training – look set to sit this one out, although there’s a belief that none of these injuries are serious.
So, it seems Wilson will come back just when we’ve lost Isak, Anderson is available again in Saint-Maximin’s likely absence and Bruno will be OK – which is a huge boost when Fulham will be without central midfield star Joao Palhinha through suspension.
Shelvey is actually key to us improving in attack. Obviously getting Wilson, ASM, and Isak fit and firing is also key, but with Shelvey back Howe can push Bruno further forward and hopefully act as that perfect bridge between midfield and attack. We can’t always rely on ASM to carry the ball into dangerous areas. We need Bruno counteract the isolation of the front three that we’ve been seeing this season.
Kevin Mclaughlin(Quote)