Newcastle United left surprised after what happened to Sandro Tonali during international break with Italy

Add as preferred source on Google

Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has wasted no time since his return to football.

The 24-year-old’s 10-month ban for betting came to an end on August 28th, and Sandro Tonali has been involved in every game possible since then.

He started Newcastle’s Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest, with Tonali impressing Toon fans with his performance. The midfielder followed that up with a cameo against Spurs, and Eddie Howe felt Tonali gave Newcastle the spark required to win.

And he also came on at half time at Molineux on Sunday, with Tonali praised for his impact off the bench.

Sandro Tonali played two full 90 minutes for Italy

But while Tonali is still being eased back in for Newcastle United, it was a different story on the international stage.

Luciano Spalletti had no qualms about including Tonali in his Italy squad, and the former AC Milan star went on to play the full 90 minutes in both of the Azzurri’s Nations League games.

Tonali’s international exploits were a boost to Newcastle, as it showed that he is not struggling for sharpness so soon after his return.

However, his appearances for Italy did surprise people at the club, and it is going to have a knock-on effect on his minutes in a black and white shirt.

Newcastle United must now be careful with Sandro Tonali

That is according to the Athletic, who report that Newcastle United staff had not expected Tonali to play so much for Italy during the international break.

As a result, the Athletic suggest that it could cause Newcastle to be a bit more careful with Tonali’s minutes, as they aim to ensure he is not overloaded so soon after returning from a 10-month absence.

If they do overload him, the fear is that he becomes more susceptible to injury or suffers from fatigue.

You would assume this advice comes from performance director James Bunce, who has already instructed Eddie Howe to make training a bit less intense in order to preserve the players’ condition and help them avoid injury or burnout.

Eddie Howe will be tempted to start him when Newcastle face Fulham on Saturday

While Newcastle understandably want to be careful with Tonali, the £55million man has already proven that the Magpies need him to start.

He has had a positive impact during all three of his Newcastle appearances this season, including in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Wolves. He replaced Sean Longstaff at half time, and played a key role in Eddie Howe’s side coming from behind to pick up all three points.

Next up for Newcastle United is Fulham away, and there will be big pressure on Howe to start Tonali alongside Bruno Guimaraes and either Joelinton or Joe Willock.

However, the temptation might be to preserve Tonali and use him as a finisher at Craven Cottage rather than a starter.

These are the tough decisions that Howe has to make, and the Newcastle United manager will be grateful that he at least has some depth to lean on, unlike last season.