Newcastle United have received the news that midfielder Sandro Tonali will not be allowed to play against Wolves on Saturday as his 10-month has now commenced.
Eddie Howe expected to have the Italian star in his squad for the trip to Molineux after featuring midweek against Borussia Dortmund.
However, The Athletic report that FIFA have now ratified his ban and his suspension now commences.
This means that Tonali is out of Newcastle’s clash with Wolves on Saturday evening – 24 hours before the game was set to kick off.
The 23-year-old has been banned from all football activity for 10 months after being found guilty of breaching rules on gambling by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
The FIGC announced the sanction — which includes a further eight months’ rehabilitation, including therapy — on Wednesday and submitted a request on Friday to FIFA for the ban to be applied worldwide.
Tonali joined Newcastle from AC Milan as part of a €70m transfer in July, which makes this ban an even bigger blow for the Tyneside club.