When can Ivan Toney play again? Brentford striker says ban like ‘being in football prison’

Ivan Toney is back training with Brentford but is still months away from returning to the pitch.

Toney has not featured since a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on May 6 after being handed an eight-month ban for breaching betting rules.

The England star was unable to train with his Bees teammates for the first three months of his suspension as per the conditions of the ban and instead worked out alone this summer.

The 27-year-old returned to the club's Robert Rowan Performance Centre on Monday, September 18.

He scored in a behind-closed-doors friendly for Brentford B in a 2-2 draw against Italian side Como over a week later.

The game at AFC Wimbledon's ground, the Cherry Red Records Stadium, marked his first unofficial outing since his ban.

But it will be several more months before he can play for the first team.

Toney cannot play again until Wednesday, January 17, 2024.

Unfortunately for Toney, that is slap-bang in the middle of the Premier League's winter break after the festive period.

Brentford, like all other 19 clubs, will play their final top-flight games on the weekend of January 13/14 before enjoying two weekends off.

There is a chance the Bees may return to the pitch sooner to play FA Cup matches but that is dependent on the club's third round results.

Failing that, Toney's first game back for Brentford will be in a London derby away at Tottenham on Tuesday, January 30.

«When I am around the boys, it will get a bit easier,» Toney told The Diary Of A CEO podcast in August.

Toney added: «The whole football community is big on mental health and then the FA are going to do this and push me away. It's not a place I want people to feel sorry for me. That's the last thing that I want.

»So, what if someone not as strong as me in the head is