Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali will miss three more matches as he waits to finally return to competitive football.
The Italy international has been banned from football since October 2023 due to betting offences, although he has been allowed to train with the Newcastle first team during that time.
Tonali’s ban expires at the end of August, making him eligible for Newcastle’s home clash against Tottenham Hotspur on the 31st. If he plays, it’ll be the 24-year-old’s first time out on the pitch since a 25-minute appearance against Borussia Dortmund during the Champions League group stage on October 25th, 2023.
Even a return date of the 31st, however, is slightly later than some fans were expecting.
Tonali return date delayed
We already knew that Tonali would miss Newcastle’s opening two fixtures of the 2024/25 Premier League season, at home to Southampton and away to Bournemouth, respectively.
However, it’s now become clear he will also sit out their Carabao Cup second-round tie, which is scheduled to be played on the week starting August 26th.
A club statement published by Newcastle highlighted his return date as the 27th of August. However, an official release from the Football Association — as reported by the Shields Gazette — has stated the 29th of August as his official return date.
The second round of this season’s Carabao Cup is scheduled to take place across the 27th and 28th of August, ending Tonali’s hopes of featuring and picking up what would have been valuable match practice before coming back into Newcastle’s Premier League picture.
The FA document read: “An 18-month ban imposed by the FIGC for similar [betting] offences to those admitted by [Tonali] in these proceedings. 10 months of that ban is effective from 27 October 2023 to 29 August 2024.”
