United head to the Emirates Stadium for an all-Premier League third round clash this weekend hoping to start another run akin to last term’s, which saw them reach the quarter-finals.
And Bruce has confirmed that goalkeeper Dúbravka, who has been sidelined all season with an ankle injury, will feature against the Gunners as his side seek a win which would help to banish the memory of last month’s Carabao Cup quarter-final agony at Brentford.
“There are some players who need to play. I think I’ve said it from day one when I walked through the door here that I’m disappointed that we’ve got to two quarter-finals and haven’t got past them,” he said.
“I’ve treated the cup as seriously as I possibly could. We blew a wonderful opportunity a month ago to get to a semi-final.
“Yes, there’ll be a few changes tomorrow. Dúbravka needs a game – he’s back ready, and needs that game probably – so I’ll use that match. We could have done with an easier tie to get through to the next one, but we’ll treat it with the respect obviously that Arsenal deserve.”
Bruce also delivered some encouraging news on the fitness of captain Jamaal Lascelles, who returned to training this week after an extended spell on the sidelines dealing with the effects of Covid-19.
The centre half is available for the game against Mikel Arteta’s side, though the trip to the capital has come too soon for a handful of other Newcastle players – including winger Allan Saint-Maximin, who is back in the country having also suffered from Covid in recent weeks.
“We’ve got a couple of knocks. Jamal Lewis unfortunately took a knock to his knee, so he won’t make it,” added Bruce.
“Ryan Fraser is edging towards it, but he’ll not make the weekend, and as far as the Covid goes, we’ve had good news on Jamaal Lascelles as captain. He’s been given the go-ahead – he’s trained for the best part of all week now.
“Allan Saint-Maximin is now back in the country and we’re waiting for the doctors to give us the go-ahead with Allan. We’re edging towards it, but certainly Allan and Jamaal in particular have been the ones who’ve suffered more than anybody. We hope that we’ll be governed by the doctors to give us the official green light. We have with Jamaal, so hopefully now with Allan also.”
On the influence of the pair, who have played significant roles for the Magpies since Bruce’s arrival in 2019, the United head coach said: “Of course you’re going to miss your captain and you’re going to miss a player who can do something different and win us a match at the top end of the pitch. We’ve certainly missed them.
“The big thing now of course is that Jamaal has trained all week, the doctors have given him the go ahead and he feels OK. Allan is just back into the country and we’ve still got to go through the protocols of doctors giving him the go-ahead, so we hope it’s not too far.”
