Bruno Guimaraes is edging closer to a return with Newcastle United after suffering a hamstring injury during the League Cup win at Tranmere Rovers last month.
The Brazil international has not featured for Eddie Howe's side since but it is understood that Bruno is feeling "better" according to United sources. Howe has prudently not pushed the former Lyon star too hard as he doesn't want to risk further damage to one of his key men.
And he must weigh up whether the weekend clash with AFC Bournemouth comes too soon for the midfielder. The international break follows quickly on the back of Saturday's encounter with the Cherries and Bruno has been called up by Brazil for friendly matches against Ghana and Tunisia.
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These will be the last games before the World Cup and Brazil's medics may want to run the rule over Bruno's fitness regardless of whether he features or not given his importance to the squad in Qatar.
Bruno has missed the last three matches for Newcastle including the 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers, the 2-1 defeat at Liverpool and the 0-0 stalemate against Crystal Palace. But both the player and Howe hope that he can be back on the field in due course.
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