'Not 100%' - Sandro Tonali Newcastle United injury claim made after being cleared to play
Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has recovered from injury concerns after playing through the pain barrier at Leeds United.
Sandro Tonali was an injury concern for Newcastle United after being forced off with a shoulder issue against Liverpool last month.
The 25-year-old was cleared to play in the following match against Leeds United, which finished 0-0 at Elland Road.
Tonali has since joined up with the Italy squad and played the majority of his country’s 5-0 win over Estonia on Friday. Italy’s World Cup qualifying campaign continues in Israel on Monday night.
The match could prove crucial in deciding Italy’s World Cup qualification fate as Israel currently sit three points ahead of Italy in the qualification table but have played a game more.
The four-time World Champions are six points behind group leaders Norway, but also have a game in hand. They will be looking to qualify for their first World Cup since 2014.
The Gazette has launched a new WhatsApp NUFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join our NUFC WhatsApp channel.
Sandro Tonali reveals NUFC injury struggles
With Tonali cleared to play against Leeds and go away on international duty, the worst of his injury concerns look to be behind him.
But when reflecting on the issue, Tonali admitted he took a risk by playing.
"I spoke with the gaffer and the doctor, it was a difficult,” he said. “I worked every day for eight hours, starting early in the morning and finishing after dinner just to play in this game. The shoulder is not 100%, it was a little bit of a risk to play but the team and the game was so important.
“Every player with injuries here, if they have 1% chance to play, they play. We need to keep working and pushing because the Premier League is long. We go away for the international break and come back with 100% concentration.”
Football is BACK - subscribe to our Newcastle United newsletter for all the news straight to your inbox
Newcastle United searching for first win of the season
It will be a busy period for Newcastle following the international break as they eye their first win of the new season against Wolverhampton Wanderers next up at St James’ Park.
After that, The Magpies host Barcelona in their opening Champions League group phase match before travelling to AFC Bournemouth.
A midweek Carabao Cup fixture at St James’ Park against Bradford City follows before Newcastle end the month with another home match against Arsenal in the Premier League.
Newcastle start October with trip to Belgium to face Union Saint-Gilloise in their first Champions League away fixture of the new season.
Reflecting on Newcastle’s start to the season, Tonali said: “We need to improve in the last 25 metres because we need to score [more goals].
"We play against Aston Villa, Liverpool and this [v Leeds]. It is not an easy game. All three games we dominated.