Newcastle being able to rest Bruno for Bournemouth game

EDDIE Howe has defended his decision to protect Bruno Guimaraes away to Bournemouth at the weekend.

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The Brazilian international was benched after 68 consecutive games, much to his disappointment but on the back of World Cup duty and crunch games against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Barcelona in the Champions League, Howe took the decision to rest the South American on the South Coast.

Whether Bruno comes back into the team against Bradford City in the Carabao Cup remains to be seen, however, the head coach spoke of likely rotation.

Speaking ahead of the clash against the Bantams in the Carabao Cup, Howe said: "We need to look after Bruno at the right times, when you look back to what he gave us against Wolves, then backed it up against Barcelona.

"I felt we had to protect him, given all the numbers we have. We hope he will benefit from that."