Newcastle United official update confirms Sandro Tonali return date

The midfielder was banned for 10 months by Italian authorities last October for breaching betting regulations. He had made just 12 appearances after completing a £55million transfer from AC Milan.

Although Tonali hasn’t been able to feature for United competitively, he has continued to train with his teammates and is understood to have played in a handful of behind closed doors matches during pre-season.

An official statement from Newcastle last week confirmed the last day of Tonali’s ban is August 27 after the club received formal confirmation from the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC).

It was likely the Forest game would take place on Wednesday, August 28 with Howe’s men away to AFC Bournemouth on the Sunday. That has now been confirmed by Newcastle.

“The Magpies' Carabao Cup second round tie at Nottingham Forest has been selected for live broadcast in the UK by Sky Sports,” United announced. “As a result, Newcastle United's trip to the City Ground will be played on Wednesday, 28th August with an 8pm (BST) kick-off.

“United - finalists in 2023 - and four-time winners Forest are among the 13 Premier League clubs not competing in European competitions to enter the tournament at this stage, along with Burnley and Luton Town from the Sky Bet Championship.

“Newcastle have met Forest on five occasions in the League Cup, with the Tricky Trees winning in round two during consecutive campaigns in 2017 and 2018 but the Magpies were victorious during the 2011/12 campaign as Fabricio Coloccini's 120th minute header sealed a dramatic 4-3 win in Nottingham.

“Ticket news will be confirmed shortly.”

Supporters eagerly await the 24-year-old’s return having continued to chant his name from the terraces throughout his suspension.

Speaking on Friday, Howe said: “I know how focused he is on his return and I know how excited he is to come back and show to everyone and thank everyone for how they’ve treated him, especially his relationship with the supporters which is incredible to see from my perspective.

“Again, another huge thing from me to say thank you to the Newcastle supporters for how they’ve looked after him and dealt with it socially - I think it’s been an incredible response, and that will only help him when he returns.”