NEWCASTLE MIDFIELDER SANDRO Tonali will miss the rest of the season for club and country after Fifa ratified a 10-month ban by Italian authorities for breaching betting rules.
The Italian football federation announced on Thursday the 23-year-old had been suspended following an investigation.
Earlier on Friday, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said Tonali could feature in Saturday’s Premier League clash at Wolves as the club had not yet been officially informed of the ban.
However, Fifa have now confirmed that a request by the Italian federation to extend the sanction imposed on Tonali to have worldwide effect has now been granted.
Tonali’s agent has said his client, who joined Newcastle from AC Milan in July for around €63 million (£55m), has a gambling addiction.
Howe, whose side are sixth in the Premier League after four wins in five games, said it was impossible to work with hindsight, when asked about the signing.
“You make a decision at the time with the knowledge that you have,” he said. “We really liked him as a footballer.
“We had no idea that this was even a possibility so, of course, there’s an element of frustration and disappointment that we’re not going to have a quality player for a long period of time.”
Tonali will also miss Italy’s defence of the European Championship should they qualify for the tournament in Germany next year.
Nicolo Zaniolo, who is on loan at Aston Villa from Turkish club Galatasaray, and Tonali were forced to leave Italy’s training camp earlier this month after being told they were being investigated by Italian prosecutors.
Last week Juventus and Italy midfielder Nicolo Fagioli was handed a seven-month ban for breaching betting rules.
Howe confirmed that striker Alexander Isak aggravated a groin injury in the Dortmund match while Jacob Murphy suffered a dislocated shoulder.
“Alex is a groin which we don’t think is serious, but it’s a recurrence of the groin he suffered when he was playing for Sweden, so we need to assess that,” he said. “I think he’s having a scan today. We don’t anticipate that’s going to be too bad.
“Jacob’s is totally different, it’s a dislocation of his shoulder. It’s not clear what we’re going to do. I think he’s going to see a specialist today.”
