Howe: ‘We are waiting confirmation on Tonali ban’

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe says the club are still waiting for official confirmation of Sandro Tonali’s ban. The Azzurri international is expected to receive a 10-month ban for his part in the recent betting scandal that revealed a number of young Serie A players using illegal gambling apps. Speaking ahead of Newcastle’s match against Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend, Howe confirmed that there was a good chance that Tonali would feature in the match:

“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 he’s 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, 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. From what I can see he’s handling himself in the right way.”

“It’s difficult because we haven’t had that official confirmation as a football club yet. We’ve heard the news and speculation statement, 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. There has to be a few things that have to happen before the ban is imposed so let’s see.”