Sandro Tonali's Newcastle United return date as midfielder ruled out of three matches

The 24-year-old was handed a 10-month ban in October last year following an investigation into illegal betting activity. His last competitive appearance came as a substitute in the 1-0 Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund at St James’ Park.

Tonali has been able to train with his Magpies teammates as normal and can now look forward to being eligible for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur on the weekend of August 31.

The Italian will miss the opening two matches of the 2024-25 Premier League season against Southampton and AFC Bournemouth, while he is also set to miss the Carabao Cup second round tie on the week commencing August 26, despite it first being thought he could feature.

A club statement published by Newcastle listed Tonali’s return date as August 27, 2024, which would allow him to play in Carabao Cup second-round matches on August 27 and August 28. However, an official document published by the FA lists Tonali’s return date as August 29.

The document outlines the length as Tonali’s ban as: “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.” Newcastle will adhere to Tonali’s ban until the FA date unless told otherwise.

Having already received a 10-month ban from the Italian Football Federation, which was then imposed worldwide by FIFA, the FA opted against handing extending Tonali’s ban.

The former AC Milan midfielder, who admitted to placing 40 to 50 bets on football between August and October of last year including four bets on Newcastle to win, was handed a two-month suspended sentence until the end of the 2024-25 season and fined £20,000.

On the FA ruling, United boss Eddie Howe said: “It’s the right decision. I think the FA have arrived at the ban that isn’t extended. Sandro’s currently working hard behind the scenes, he’s trained very well. But as always, referring to this situation, we’re still supporting him and helping him as he serves his time.

“He’s been very good, very consistent. Of course I see a small fraction of his life, the time he is at the training ground. He’s a very good professional, he’s trained very well, but he’s relatively quiet, that’s just his personality. I wouldn’t necessarily see what goes on beneath the surface, I’m sure he’s had difficult moments but he’s done really well.

“I’ve seen the hunger there (to return to playing) throughout the entire time. He’s done a lot of work alone, individual work, fitness work, gym work, we’ve worked on his speed, and covered loads of aspects of his game to try and help him.”