Eddie Howe was quizzed on some shocking refereeing decision in Newcastle’s win Aston Villa
20:57, 14 Feb 2026Updated 21:02, 14 Feb 2026
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe (right) and assistant manager Jason Tindall during the 3-1 win at Aston Villa(Image: PA)
Eddie Howe has warned there will be no cutting corners for Bruno Guimaraes when it comes to getting him back “safely” from a hamstring problem.
The Brazil international has had the results of a scan, and while it showed there was no long-term injury issue, he will be out until April.
Howe anticipates he will not be back until after the next international break, which could mean Bruno can play in possible FA Cup quarter-final and a potential Champions League last eight shoot-out if things stay prosperous in both competitions.
Howe said after the 3-1 win over Aston Villa on FA Cup fourth round night: “I think he will be (pushing to get back sooner). But the time frame will be the time frame on this one.
“I don’t think there’s any miracle cure for him. I think it will be a couple of months. You are probably looking at the end of the international break in March for him.
FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK! Keep up with all the Newcastle United latest via the Chronicle’s dedicated Facebook page
“That is a blow for us. It is a key stage in the season for us, he is devastated but it is what it is.
“We can’t do anything about it. We just have to get him back safely and others players have to step up in his absence.
“We did that today, Woltemade, Ramsey and Tonali were excellent.”
Howe was also asked if there was some justice done after bad decisions ended up benefiting the Magpies. Some blatant decisions went against the Magpies.
Howe said: “That was certainly a tough first half for us. Obviously, we got the benefit of replays on the bench, and you can see what’s right and what’s wrong.
“And we felt really aggrieved in that first period that every decision seemed like it was going against us. The officials don’t make any decision on purpose. It’s what they think at the time. But with without VAR, I thought there was a lot of errors today.”
Howe agreed that VAR should not be needed for decisions like that.
He said: “Ideally not, but that the game moves at a very quick speed, and I think the referees and officials are making honest decisions, but they’ve got them wrong on more than one occasion against us, and unfortunately for us, it was sort of building up negatively for us.
“But I thought the players did really well to control their emotions, to stay calm, not let it affect our performance negatively.
“And that’s not easy to do in that situation where you feel aggrieved, so I think that certainly helps our performance in the second half.”
Ensure our latest Newcastle United headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings