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    Eddie Howe says there is a ‘high chance’ Sandro Tonali will play despite 10-month ban

    Emma TeeBy No Comments3 Mins Read

    Despite serving a 10-month ban, Eddie Howe believes there is a “high chance” Sandro Tonali will play for Newcastle United against Wolves on Saturday.

    Eddie Howe says there is a'high chance' Sandro Tonali will play despite 10-month ban
    Eddie Howe says there is a ‘high chance’ Sandro Tonali will play despite 10-month ban

    On Thursday, it was officially announced that Tonali had been suspended from football for ten months due to violations of Italian wagering laws.

    Due to this, he will miss the rest of the current season, the first few weeks of the 2024–25 campaign, and Italy’s participation in Euro 2024.

    Newcastle, which spent £55 million to acquire the 23-year-old midfield player from AC Milan this summer, is reportedly considering all of its legal options to see whether they are eligible for monetary damages.

    Tonali said, in a meeting with Italian officials last week, that he had wagered on many football events, including Milan games.

    The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president, Gabriele Gravina, confirmed Tonali’s punishment, stating that he would be out of action for ten months and would spend an extra eight months in a rehabilitation program.

    However, Newcastle manager Howe has stated that the Premier League team has not yet had “official confirmation” of Tonali’s punishment and that he would probably be ready for Saturday’s match against Wolves.

    ‘It’s difficult because we haven’t had that official confirmation as a football club yet,’ Howe said on Friday.

    ‘We’ve heard the news and speculation, but we haven’t had anything from the Italian authorities at the moment so we’re in limbo really waiting for that official confirmation to come through.

    ‘I think there’s a high chance he could be available for us [against Wolves]. There has to be a few things that have to happen before the ban is imposed so lets see.

    ‘I think you saw from the Dortmund game he came on and did really well. He was bright. That’s how he’s trained.

    ‘From the moment this happened I think his training performances have been very good. That’s the only way I can judge it. His mood is the same, he’s good around the group, he’s good around the training ground.

    ‘Obviously it is there in the background and I’m sure when he goes home there’s difficult times for him. But from what I can see he’s handling himself in the right way.

    ‘I can’t work with hindsight, you make a decision at the time with the knowledge that we had.

    ‘We really liked him as a footballer, we had no idea that this was even a possibility.

    ‘Of course there’s an element of frustration and disappointment that we’re not going to have a quality player for a long period of time.’