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The Newcastle United midfielder has reflected on his return to action following a lengthy suspension.
Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has described his comeback from a long-term suspension as ‘very emotional’ during an interview with an Italian TV station.
The former AC Milan star was the Magpies biggest signing of last summer and looked set to play an integral role for Eddie Howe’s side as they prepared for their first venture into the Champions League for two decades. After scoring on his United debut in a 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa on the opening day of the Premier League season, Tonali went on to make a further 11 appearances before his first season on Tyneside was cut drastically short by a suspension for breaching gambling regulations in Italy.
Newcastle stood by the Italy international throughout his time on the sidelines and the 24-year-old made his long-awaited return to competitive action when he started a Carabao Cup second round tie against Nottingham Forest in late August. An almost immediate return to the international scene followed just over a week later when Tonali produced a stunning assist to help Italy to a 3-1 win in a UEFA Nations League fixture against France. Reflecting on the events of the last 12 months and his return to action for club and country, Tonali admitted his suspension has left a long-lasting impact on him.
As per Calcio Mercato, the Magpies star told Vivo Azzurro TV: “My return to the field against France was a bit of a liberation. The first encounters with Newcastle were very emotional, but this one I experienced totally on a football level. It was the third match and I no longer had the emotion of the first. It was very beautiful, everything came naturally.
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“Last year’s journey was very hard, but very productive. I will always carry with me the memory of the year I spent off the field because it’s right not to forget it. I believe that when a player trains all week without his final objective, which is the match, he finds a sense of emptiness inside himself. It wasn’t easy to spend the first year away from home without playing an official match, but trying to maintain only physical fitness. This was the challenge I had to face in the most serious way possible.”
Tonali will hope to return to the Magpies starting eleven when Leicester City are the visitors to St James Park on Saturday afternoon.
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