Steve Bruce reveals why he took off Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron in Newcastle United defeat

Saint-Maximin scored for Newcastle United in last night’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester United.

Bruce took off Saint-Maximin and Almiron late in the Premier League loss, which has left the club three points above the relegation zone ahead of Saturday’s home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

And Newcastle’s head coach pointed to Saint-Maximin’s ongoing recovery from Covid-19 – and Almiron’s “exhaustion” – when asked about the two substitutions.

“Allan, for me, physically is still not right,” said Bruce. “I think Almiron was totally exhausted with the workrate that he put on. With 10 minutes to go, or whatever it was, I was worried for the pair of them, especially Allan. I was worried that, physically, he was holding his hamstrings and his groin. One thing we can’t have is another injury to either of those two.”