Explained: Why Sandro Tonali could still play for Newcastle against Wolves despite being handed 10-month suspension

The Italy international has been informed by authorities in his homeland that he must serve a suspension that will carry him through to next summer – ruling him out of the rest of the 2023-24 Premier League season and Euro 2024.

Said sanction is, however, yet to be rubber-stamped, meaning that Tonali remains available until formal ratification comes through. That process could be completed by the time that Newcastle take to the field at Molineux on Saturday, but for now the 23-year-old midfielder remains in Eddie Howe’s plans.

Magpies boss Howe told reporters prior to receiving confirmation of Tonali’s ban: “We've not had official confirmation as a football club. We've not had anything from the Italian authorities so we are waiting for that official confirmation to come through. There's a high chance he could be available for us. A few things need to happen before the ban is imposed so let's see. You saw from the Dortmund game he did very well. He's been bright and he's trained. The only way I can judge him is on that. He's been good around the group and the training ground. From how I can see, he's handling himself in the right way. I think I said in the press conference the other day, I can't work with hindsight. We didn't know this was even a possibility. There's a frustration that we won't have him now as I liked him as a footballer.”

Tonali joined Newcastle from AC Milan for £55 million ($67m) during the summer transfer window. He has taken in just 12 appearances this season and is set to be made unavailable until August 2024 – although he will still be allowed to train with the rest of the Magpies squad and take part in any friendly fixtures.