Bruno Guimaraes has wasted no time throwing himself back into the gym after leaving Brazil's international camp through injury. The Newcastle United star is already back at the club's Benton training base and working hard after being cut from the national side over the weekend.
Swelling in his left thigh caused Guimaraes to miss Friday's 3-0 win over Ghana and has kept him out of Tuesday's clash with Tunisia in Paris, with Brazil boss Tite opting to take him out of his side. Guimaraes enjoyed some down time at DisneyLand Paris on Sunday but is now battling to be fit for the trip to Fulham on Saturday.
Eddie Howe was reluctant to give the midfielder too much game time on his recent return from a hamstring injury but may have little choice this weekend as Newcastle desperately seek a win. Guimaraes was given 72 minutes against Bournemouth before the international break but Howe later admitted he only intended to give the former Lyon man an hour at St James' Park.
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Guimaraes himself will be keen to return as soon as possible after missing two key games for his country in recent days. Tite's squad is littered with talent and Bruno wanted to stake his claim for a starting spot at the World Cup.
Speaking about his call-up, Bruno said: "These were two big challenges, two games before the World Cup so it will be important. I hope to play, I hope to play well to guarantee my place in the national team for the World Cup.
"For sure, these two friendly games will be important for me and I hope to play well to guarantee my place because it’s my dream to play at the World Cup. It’s in my thoughts, the World Cup and it’s my obsession now and now I can think about it but when I come back my focus is just on Newcastle."
Newcastle are also sweating over the fitness of Alexander Isak who was also forced to withdraw from Sweden's international fixtures after picking up a training injury last week. Allan Saint-Maximin is also stepping up his recovery after missing recent Premier League games.
Callum Wilson should be back in the fold for the Fulham trip, while Elliot Anderson's training injury before Bournemouth is said to have been minor. Chris Wood is another player who could miss out after picking up a rib problem in New Zealand's loss to Australia.
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