Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes is a doubt to face Aston Villa | OneFootball

Newcastle United are sweating over the fitness of key midfielder Bruno Guimaraes ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash against Aston Villa.

Manager Eddie Howe has confirmed that the Brazilian is a doubt after suffering an injury during the 3-0 Champions League victory against PSV Eindhoven in midweek.

Guimaraes was forced off on the stroke of half-time and was replaced by academy talent Lewis Miley.

He was in visible discomfort as he made his way off the pitch, and admitted to staff on the bench that the pain was ‘immense’ before heading straight down the tunnel.

Newcastle are still trying to figure out the full extent of Guimaraes’ injury, but it may be enough to keep him out of Sunday’s game against Villa.

Guimaraes has made it clear that he wants to play through the pain.

He wants to push through the discomfort as Newcastle bid to bounce back from a disappointing goalless draw against Premier League whipping boys Wolverhampton Wanderers.

However, manager Eddie Howe has stressed that the final decision will be made in the build-up to the game, but confirmed that he won’t risk his captain if he doesn’t have to.

“We hope it is not serious,” Howe said during his pre-match press conference. “The extent of the injury is still unknown.

He was reasonably positive after the game – he is the guy who will never rule anything out. We are going to give him every chance for this weekend.

“We will try to make the right decision with Bruno – he is a pivotal player. We will always try to make the right decision to protect the long-term.

“We will try to do that with Bruno. He is a match-winner and an inspiration, so we need him.”

Guimaraes joins Newcastle’s list of absentees, which is growing at a concerning rate.

The Magpies are already without Fabian Schar, Emil Krafth, Jamaal Lascelles, Dan Burn, Jacob Murphy and Valentino Livramento. The latter is attracting interest from Arsenal and Manchester City.