Eddie Howe on Bruno Guimaraes’ fitness ahead of Arsenal

Eddie Howe has a few injury concerns heading into Saturday evening's game with Arsenal.

It has been confirmed that Anthony Gordon and Tino Livramento will miss Saturday's trip to London with a hip and groin injury, respectively.

Anthony Gordon's injury isn't thought to be serious, and Eddie Howe expects he could return to action next week, but he's less confident about Tino Livramento, who may miss the rest of the season after pulling up in the defeat to Bournemouth.

In that game, Bruno Guimaraes made his comeback after a 10-week period on the sidelines, but the question now is whether the Brazilian will be fit enough to start on Saturday.

Eddie Howe says Bruno has trained well this week

Eddie Howe was asked that very question on Friday during his pre-match press conference, and while Howe hinted that Bruno had looked good in training, he wouldn't commit to whether the 28-year-old would be in the starting eleven.

"He's had a full week of training and he's trained really well. I've been very pleased with him. It's been tough for him. 

“I think you could see against Bournemouth that he came on with all the right intentions to deliver a really good physical performance, but you could see that he was struggling at times physically to adapt to the pace because he really had minimal training. But he was playing on heart and spirit and determination. 

"But the week he's had this week will serve him really well. He's such an important player for us on so many levels that, of course, we're keen to get him on the pitch as quickly as possible, but I've just got to make sure it's not to his detriment. 

"It's been great to have him back around the group, though. He's such a positive person that he can only help and inspire the players around him."

To start or not to start? That is the question

It really didn't take long for Bruno to look like he was struggling after entering the field last week, so his fitness levels are definitely a worry.

We doubt Bruno will see out 90 minutes, so now it just remains to be seen if Howe goes with the captain from the start and replaces him later on, or brings him on in the second half as a boost.

If it were down to us, we'd have Bruno in from the start to give us the early impetus to go and take the game to Arsenal. If we let them start well, we could be buried before we get Bruno on the pitch.

Of course, there's the fact that we tend to go for long naps in the second half, and that's when teams have been able to take advantage of us. 

We're glad it's not us who has to make this decision.