- Brentford striker Ivan Toney was reportedly seen training at the club in August
- Toney received an eight-month ban in May after breaking betting rules
- Mail Sport’s new WhatsApp Channel: Get the breaking news and exclusives here
Ivan Toney has reportedly been pictured ‘training at Brentford‘s performance centre in August’ while he was still banned from football, after the club ‘struck a secret deal with the Football Assosication’.
The 27-year-old was banned from all football activity for eight months on May 17 after the striker pleaded guilty to 232 of the 262 betting charges brought against him by the FA last year.
Toney had been expected to return to training next week after a four-month absence.
The England forward, who made his debut for Gareth Southgate‘s side earlier this year is expected to be able to play for the club again on January 16 2024, with Mail Sport reporting that Toney had been expected to return to training next week after a four-month absence.
But according to The Sun, the Premier League outfit say the striker has been granted ‘dispensation’ to use their training ground, with the report also showing pictures of Toney jogging around a pitch at their training centre. They say the images were taken in August.
Ivan Toney (pictured) has reportedly been pictured ‘training at Brentford’s performance centre in August’ while he was still banned from football
The 27-year-old (right) was banned from all football activity for eight months on May 17 after the striker pleaded guilty to 232 of the 262 betting charges
According to the outlet, Brentford issued a statement on the forwards early return, with the club reportedly saying: ‘Ivan Toney was given dispensation by the Football Association to attend club premises during his suspension from football-related activity for rehabilitation work after he suffered a hamstring injury that caused him to miss matches in May.
‘That rehabilitation work involved individual sessions with strength and conditioning coaches and medical staff, including with a football, as per Ivan’s recovery plan.
‘There have been no breaches of FA sanctions, all of which were strictly observed by both the club and Ivan.’
The Sun adds that Toney ‘practised with the ball at the Bees’ training ground before being filmed taking part in a solo fitness session with the first-team conditioning coach Matt Bramhall.’
It comes as the club previously vowed to support the striker during his ban, saying: ‘The club will now be doing everything possible to provide support to Ivan and his family to deal with the issues raised in this case.’
His final game for Brentford came on May 5, a 1-0 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield. Toney had also notably scoring in his previous outing, helping Thomas Frank’s side win 2-1 against Nottingham Forest.
He missed the final three games of the season, the first with an injury, before his ban stopped him from appearing in the latter two matches, with Toney enjoying a prolific season scoring 20 goals in 33 Premier League matches.
Toney was expected to be back in training later this September after a four-month absence
His manager, Frank, admitted last week that his side could sell the Bees star ‘for the right price‘ with reports also suggesting that Man United, Chelsea and Tottenham had been eyeing a January move for Toney.
Back in August, Toney opened up on his addiction to gambling while speaking publicly on his ban for the first time, admitting he had been turned away from restaurants and car insurers.
The 27-year-old said: ‘I remember at the time when there was allegations, I wanted to go to a restaurant and they were like “no you can’t – we’re not taking you”.
He added: ‘I was just baffled, and my car insurance, they wouldn’t insure me due to the whole scandal. And I was like “car insurance? They won’t have me on their books?”. It was baffling.’
Source From: Football | Mail Online
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