Newcastle United suffer minor Sandro Tonali blow as details of ban are clarified

Sandro Tonali is set to miss the opening couple of Premier League games next season as his 10-month ban winds down.

We thought that the hefty ban handed to Newcastle United's big summer signing would have ended by the time the new Premier League season got underway, but it turns out that the £55million midfielder will not be available until the third game of the season.

After having missed him for most of this current season, that's not too much of a blow, however, when the ban was handed down it was reported that Tonali would be allowed to represent Newcastle United in friendly matches.

Craig 'Good News' Hope strikes again

It turns out that's not entirely true as The Daily Mail has revealed.

Craig Hope, the harbinger of doom, has shed some light on the intricacies of that clause of the ban and it's not good news for fans hoping to get a glimpse of the Italian in the summer.

The ban does allow Sandro Tonali to play in friendly matches, but only those played behind closed doors, so any game that has fans or even cameras in attendance, he'll have to sit it out.

We're just waiting for The FA to hit him with another ban

Tonali is still being investigated by The FA to see if he had continued his illegal better after he'd made the move to Newcastle, and like they do, The FA are dragging their heels somewhat.

What's likely to happen now is that we'll get to August and the FA will release their findings and slap him with another ban. That's about as Newcastle as it gets.

Hopefully, he will escape further punishment and will make a return to the squad next season, we want to see what he can really do after seeing flashes of brilliance in the 12 games he played in before the ban hammer fell.