Newcastle's Sandro Tonali has "high chance" of facing Wolves despite 10-month betting ban

The president of the Italian Football Federation stated on Thursday that Tonali will be banned from football for 10 months for breaching betting rules and will serve a further eight-month period attending treatment sessions after negotiating a plea bargain with Italian prosecutors.

However, Sky Sports in Italy claims that the 23-year-old's lengthy suspension is yet to be rubber-stamped by the Italian authorities and formal ratification could come at some stage on Friday afternoon.

Newcastle currently find themselves in a state of «limbo» according to Howe, as Tonali is available to travel with the squad and play in Saturday evening's Premier League clash with Wolves at Molineux, as things stand, having previously made substitute outings against Crystal Palace and Borussia Dortmund amid the ongoing investigation.

As soon as Tonali's ban is ratified, the midfielder will be ruled out for the rest of the 2023-24 season and cannot represent Italy should they qualify for Euro 2024, although he is free to train with Newcastle and play in friendly matches.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday morning about Tonali's situation, Howe said: «It's a difficult one because we haven't had official confirmation as a football club yet. We've heard the news and the speculation with the statement but we haven't had anything from the Italian authorities at the moment.

»We're in limbo at the moment waiting for that official confirmation to come through. There's a high chance again he could be