Sandro Tonali can probably consider himself lucky that he’s only being banned from football for 10 months.
The Newcastle midfielder originally face a ban of four years (Daily Mirror) before a plea bargain saw the sentence drastically reduced.
During the time that he’s banned from the game, he will still be able to train with the Magpies, which will give both club and player some hope that when he’s able to return, it shouldn’t take him too long to regain his match fitness.
That’s in stark contrast to Brentford’s Ivan Toney who has had not been able to train as per the terms of his own ban for betting irregularities.
The Daily Mirror also note that Tonali will lose in the region of £11m in salary though not being able to do what he does best in front of 50,000+ adoring Geordies is sure to hurt him more.
One positive aspect for Newcastle is that the cost saving could be put towards bringing in another midfielder, in order that their season isn’t derailed entirely.
It will also be interesting to see whether the north east giants decide to pursue a legal route to look at whether Tonali’s former club, AC Milan, knew of his gambling addiction before allowing him to be sold to Newcastle.
For now, the player needs to get his head down and train hard, whilst doing his level best to conquer his demons.