Major Newcastle United fitness boost v AC Milan after scan & Brentford absence

Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali is set to feature against former club AC Milan tomorrow night after not being risked against Brentford.

The £52million summer signing picked up a thigh injury on international duty which forced him to miss Italy’s 2-1 Euro 2024 qualifier win over Ukraine last Tuesday.

Tonali didn’t train with his Magpies teammates in the build-up to Brentford but was included on the bench as Callum Wilson’s 64th-minute penalty clinched a 1-0 win.

Magpies head coach Eddie Howe decided against using Tonali in the hope of having him ready for tomorrow night’s Champions League clash at the San Siro

“Sandro didn’t train with us, he had a scan and had a clearance session and came through that [on Friday] but we were only going to use him in an emergency,” said Howe.

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Asked if Tonali will be in contention for Milan, Howe replied: “I hope so. It was part of the thought of not risking him today unless we absolutely had to was to try and make him available for the next run of games.”

The 23-year-old goes up against his boyhood club just two months after departing. Tonali is speaking to the media this evening to preview the game.

He could immediately reclaim his place in the starting XI with Joe Willock and Joelinton ruled out for the next few weeks or so.