NEWCASTLE United are closely monitoring Bruno Guimarães ahead of the trip to Manchester City, with the midfielder a fitness doubt after hurting his ankle in the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester United.

Bruno twisted his ankle, as he did in the 1-0 win over Fulham earlier this year. On that occasion, he was able to quickly recover from the injury and was surprisingly available for the next game against Crystal Palace.

Head coach Eddie Howe is hoping that's the case again as the Magpies travel to the Etihad for Saturday's early kick-off looking for a response to their Wembley heartbreak.

The ankle problem forced Bruno off the pitch in the late stages of the Manchester United defeat, with Joe Willock replacing the Brazilian in the 79th minute.

“Bruno twisted his ankle," said Howe.

"I think he did similar – I can't remember the game – but not too long ago in a match. He was in a bit of pain. We don't think it's serious at the moment, but let's wait and see."

While Bruno is a fitness concern for the game at Manchester City, where Newcastle face the ultimate challenge as they look to end their four-match winless run in the league, Sean Longstaff will be available for the Magpies. He was replaced at half-time of Sunday's final by Alexander Isak, but that was a tactical decision as Howe looked for a way back into the game.

The head coach explained: “Sean was just a tactical switch, 2-0 down, cup final, I didn't feel we had a minute to waste to chase the game, so that's why we brought Alex on."

Isak impressed from the bench and staked a claim for a run in the side. He's started just five Premier League games since his arrival after missing three months through a hamstring injury. Howe must now decide whether he's going to choose between Wilson and Isak or play them both, as he did in the second half at Wembley.

Anthony Gordon is also pushing for a start at the Etihad after being cup tied for the final, while Willock will have had another week to shake off the hamstring injury that meant he was only fit enough for a spot on the bench on Sunday.

Howe said: “Knowing your best team is never a static thing. You don’t want it to be either. You always want players to give you problems and ask questions of your decision making. I have an idea of my best players but my best team is always changing.”

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Howe and his players are now looking to get back to winning ways in the Premier League and will use the cup final heartbreak as fuel to ensure their campaign doesn't fizzle out.

Howe said:  “I always think when you lose you can take positives from it. Many times over the years I’ve done that. I'll face that situation and tried to find solutions to the problems and work out where you can improve and how you can improve.

“I don’t think my fire or my passion needs to be any bigger, I don’t think it can be. I’m determined and really driven and determined to be successful. Certainly you can learn a lot in these moments and I’ll encourage myself to do that in the next few days.”