‘In limbo’ - Shock Sandro Tonali update as ‘high chance’ Newcastle United star will play v Wolves

Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali is still available to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday evening (kick-off 5:30pm) with FIFA yet to formally ratify the Italian authorities’ imposed ban.

Italian Football Federation issued a statement on Thursday afternoon confirming Tonali had received an 18-month suspension, eight of which will be commuted to a personal recovery programme and a cycle of at least 16 public meetings.

However, Magpies’ Eddie Howe says that is yet to be communicated to the football, meaning he is preparing as if the 23-year-old will be available for selection.

“At the moment he’s travelling with us,” said Howe. “We’re preparing as if he’s fit and available to play.

“We haven’t had official confirmation as a football club yet. We’ve heard the news, speculation and statement but we haven’t had anything from the Italian authorities. We’re sort of in limbo as we wait for that official confirmation to come through.

“There’s a high chance he could be available for us. I still think there are a few things that have to happen before the ban is imposed. We’ll see.”

Howe added: “I’m slightly removed from everything because I’m focused on training and game preparation. Then you come back and hear little bits of snippets of news about how things are going.

“I’ve sort of come to mentally accept that now. I’ve had to accept that, with the situation, I’m not going to know what’s going on and I’ll probably hear it a bit further down the line, and I’m going to be without Sandro for a long time at some point, but when that is, we don’t quite know. Once you mentally accept that, I can handle it and focus on the players that I do have.”