Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said there is a “high chance” that Sandro Tonali could be involved in Saturday’s Premier League fixture at Wolves despite being handed a 10-month ban by Italian authorities for breaching betting rules.

The Italian football federation announced on Thursday the 23-year-old international midfielder had been suspended until next season following an investigation, although the sanction is yet to be ratified by governing bodies UEFA and FIFA.

Tonali’s agent has said his client, who joined Newcastle from AC Milan in July for around £55 million ($67 million) has a gambling addiction.

Asked for his reaction to the ban on Friday, Howe said: “It’s a difficult one because we haven’t had official confirmation as a football club yet.

“So we’ve heard the news, the speculation, statement, but we haven’t had anything from the Italian authorities at the moment so we’re sort of in limbo really, waiting for that official confirmation to come through.”

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