Newcastle confirm Sandro Tonali return date with £55million midfielder just DAYS away from returning to action

NEWCASTLE UNITED have announced their proposed return date for midfielder Sandro Tonali.

The Italian joined the Magpies from AC Milan last summer, inking a five-year contract at St James' Park.

But he only played a handful of matches for Eddie Howe's side as he was hit with a TEN-MONTH BAN after being found guilty of breaching Italian betting regulations.

The ban - which came into effect on October 26 - saw Tonali miss Euro 2024.

Tonali's period of ineligibility will officially end on August 27.

And the club plans to reintegrate the 24-year-old back into their plans the following day.

A statement read: "Newcastle United can announce that Sandro Tonali will return to selection on Wednesday 28th August 2024 following the conclusion of his ten-month ban from competitive football.

"The club has received formal confirmation from the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) that the player’s sporting sanction will run up to and including Tuesday 27th August.

"The Magpies will travel to Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup second round during the week commencing Monday 26th August (fixture date and time TBC), before hosting Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League at St. James’ Park on Sunday 1st September (kick-off 1:30pm BST)."

Tonali's first match since the completion of his ban will likely be the Toon Army's Carabao Cup clash with Forest.

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That's because Howe's charges are away to his former side Bournemouth the previous Sunday and EFL chiefs will likely schedule their clash with Forest for the following Wednesday instead of the Tuesday night.

Newcastle gave Tonali a specialised training regime to keep him physically and mentally fit during his period of ineligibility.

Reflecting on the midfielder's ban last October, Howe told reporters: "I am not going to say that he owes the club an apology to you.

"That conversation is between the club and Sandro and myself and I don't think public statements are needed at this stage.

"I will have to see the whole time he will be unable to play and then work out a plan for him.

"It will be very very difficult for him. He will get a feeling of monotony where he is not playing and training is a difficult thing and I've seen it many times with players.

"We need to keep his mind fresh and his body able to execute what he needs to do big pitch stuff.

"It will be a challenge for us to make sure he comes out of the period, hopefully, a better player than the player who leaves us now.

"If he is banned for that time he is going to have difficult moments in that time frame. 10 months is a long time for a professional athlete not to do what he does.

"Especially on the scale of the pitch. In training, you can get used to small-sided games."

Newcastle kick off their Premier League campaign on Saturday afternoon, welcoming Southampton to St James' Park.