Sandro Tonali is returning to Newcastle United after playing for Italy over the international break.
Tonali had been expected to miss Italy’s game with Norway on Monday night anyway, with the Newcastle United midfielder only one booking away from a suspension.
Had the 25-year-old picked up a yellow in Milan, he would be suspended for the first leg of Italy’s likely play-off game for World Cup qualification.
Italy confirmed they would rest Tonali against Norway but the midfielder did play the full game as Gennaro Gattuso’s side beat Moldova on Thursday.
It appears as if he’s picked up a knock and Fabrizio Romano has shared the latest.
Sando Tonali is knocked off the ball during Italy's 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Moldova.
Photo by DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images
Sandro Tonali returning to Newcastle United after suffering knock for Italy
On Saturday, the Italian football journalist posted an update on social media platform X.
He revealed that Tonali was not 100% fit and won’t be risked within the international camp any longer. Rather than stay around for the Norway game, a decision has been made.
Newcastle’s medical staff have been informed about that, and the former AC Milan star will now be heading back to Tyneside.
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Hopefully, the issue isn’t too serious. The fact he played the full game against Moldova and no major concerns were reported would perhaps suggest it isn’t.
Impressively, Tonali has never missed a game through injury for Newcastle.
He’s been rested at times due to illness this season and obviously missed months of action because of a betting ban, but never through injury.
Eddie Howe cannot afford for that to start now.
Newcastle play an in-form Manchester City after the international break and desperately need to respond to a dreadful run in recent weeks.
That will be a hard enough game anyway, so not having Tonali available would only make things much worse.