Jonjo Shelvey scored Newcastle United’s equalising goal against Manchester City at the weekend.
Newcastle picked up a highly credible 2-2 draw with City on Saturday, and Shelvey played an important role.
The English midfielder scored Newcastle’s equaliser late on, as he curled in a brilliant shot from distance.
And Bruce claims that he has been very impressed by what he has seen from Shelvey over recent weeks.
“Did I consider leaving him out? No,” Bruce said.
“I’ve been quietly pleased with him. I thought he was excellent against West Ham, which was only four weeks ago.
“We were disappointing against Aston Villa – I thought we were disappointing as a team and that’s the thing we have to address. But I’ve been really pleased with Jonjo.
“Physically, we have asked him to do stuff he probably wouldn’t have been able to do before or been asked to do before. When I saw his physical stats against Aston Villa, they were terrific.”
Shelvey has not always been a permanent starter for Newcastle this term, so Bruce’s comment are sure to be music of the ears of the technically efficient midfielder.
Sean Longstaff and Matty Longstaff both were favoured to Shelvey at stages this season, but it seems like the 27-year-old has played his way back into Bruce’s plans.
Newcastle are next in action in midweek against Sheffield United, when it seems likely that Shelvey will get the nod to start again.
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