Newcastle United may have been rocked by the news of Sandro Tonali’s ban, but a positive update has now emerged regarding the Italian midfielder.
Sandro Tonali banned for ten months
The 23-year-old was seen as a hugely exciting signing when he traded AC Milan for the Magpies during the summer transfer window, coming in as someone who could add even more quality to a midfield already thriving thanks to Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes.
Tonali showed that immediately, memorably scoring early on in his debut against Aston Villa back in August, and he has continued to shine ever since, even though he is still adjusting to the frenetic nature of the Premier League.
Sadly, the Italian’s influence in this Newcastle team has been cut short, with Tonali’s ban confirmed on Thursday and a ten-month suspension coming his way for betting breaches. That means he won’t play again this season, while at international level, he won’t be able to feature for Italy at Euro 2024.
It is an enormous blow for the Magpies, and for the player himself, of course, and while there isn’t much for Newcastle to be happy about with the situation, it does at least look as though something positive has come out of the news.
Tonali will train with Newcastle throughout ban
Writing on X on Thursday, Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie some big Tonali news, confirming the ten-month suspension but also saying he will be allowed to train with his teammates during that time:
“Sandro Tonali has been handed a 10 month ban from football by Italian Prosecutors. This will include an a promise to take part in 8 months rehab & recovery activity (in Italy). Understand Tonali will be allowed to train with Newcastle & play friendlies.”
Tonali and everyone associated with Newcastle will at least take some comfort from this update, considering there was possibly the threat of him not even being able to be with his teammates every day.
This will undoubtedly come as a relief to the Italy midfielder, who will still be able to travel in to training every day like normal and get match fitness in friendly games, while it would have also been terrible for his mental state to be sat at home separated from his colleagues.
That doesn’t hide how much of a setback this is for Newcastle, however, who spent big on Tonali in the summer, seeing him as their most influential signing of the transfer window and someone who could make them even more a force than they were last season.
A January replacement will be needed, whether that is signing a player on loan or permanently, and Eddie Howe’s side now need to stick together and show that they have a strong enough squad to compete for trophies without Tonali around, as they battle across four different competitions.
It isn’t going to be easy to make up for the loss of their summer acquisition, but Newcastle have shown that they are made of stern stuff under Howe, and the hope is that they are once again playing Champions League football when Tonali makes his return to the side next season.
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