Italy and Newcastle’s midfielder Sandro Tonali will now miss Italy’s game against Norway on Sunday, after the medical team decided he’s just not fully fit enough to continue with the squad. He’s heading back to Newcastle a bit earlier than what they first planned. Newcastle’s medical team has already been told about the situation, and they’ll assess his situation once he lands.
This was confirmed by Fabrizio Romano via his official X account.
He posted:
Newcastle was quickly updated about the situation. They’ve been very protective over their squad this season, so calling him back before something turns worse is pretty much on point with their strategy. With how packed the calendar is, they don’t want a tiny knock becoming a long-term issue.
Softfootball understands that Italy also did not see it as a smart move to push him when he’s not quite there physically. Trying to manage the situation just as they did with Calafiori’s injury situation, Tonali literally finished the whole 90 minutes in the 2–0 win over Moldova on Thursday.
Watching that game, he didn’t look troubled or anything, no limping around, no hand signals, not even that tiny grimace players make when something is pulling.
But sometimes these things only show up after the match, when the adrenaline goes down and the body starts complaining a bit louder; Gattuso really rates Tonali, and losing him before a decent game like this isn’t ideal at all. But the general mood around the camp is that it’s nothing serious.
Tonali, who recently cleared the air about his future at Newcastle, will undergo more tests once he’s back at the club, and unless there’s a surprise that pops out, he should be back into normal training sooner rather than later. A bit annoying for everyone, but probably not the sort of setback that changes anything major for club or country.
